Evan Clarke > Evan's Quotes

“People are stupid. They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true.”
― Terry Goodkind, Wizard's First Rule

“If the road is easy, you're likely going the wrong way.”
― Terry Goodkind

“I often hear people say that they read to escape reality, but I believe that what they’re really doing is reading to find reason for hope, to find strength. While a bad book leaves readers with a sense of hopelessness and despair, a good novel, through stories of values realized, of wrongs righted, can bring to readers a connection to the wonder of life. A good novel shows how life can and ought to be lived. It not only entertains but energizes and uplifts readers.”
― Terry Goodkind

“I'm afraid that we all make mistakes. One of the things that defines our character is how we handle mistakes. If we lie about having made a mistake, then it can't be corrected and it festers. On the other hand, if we give up just because we made a mistake, even a big mistake, none of us would get far in life.”
― Terry Goodkind, Confessor

“I am who I am; no more, no less.”
― Terry Goodkind, Wizard's First Rule

“Love is not about what you want. It's about finding happiness for the one you love.”
― Terry Goodkind, Wizard's First Rule

“Love is a passion for life shared with another person. You fall in love with a person who you think is wonderful. It's your deepest appreciation of the value of that individual, and that individual is a reflection of what you value most in life. Love, for sound reasons, can be one of life's greatest rewards.”
― Terry Goodkind, Chainfire

“Nothing marks a man's character better than his attraction to intelligence.”
― Terry Goodkind

“Nothing gained without cost is valued. Freedom has a cost, and all will bear it so all will value and preserve it.”
― Terry Goodkind

“Wizard's First Rule: People are stupid”
― Terry Goodkind, Wizard's First Rule

“You can't argue with the fools in the world. It's better to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not paying attention.”
― Terry Goodkind

“Knowledge is a destination. Truth, the journey.”
― Terry Goodkind

“The Second Rule is that the greatest harm can result from the best intentions. It sounds a paradox, but kindness and good intentions can be an insidious path to destruction. Sometimes doing what seems right is wrong, and can cause harm. The only counter to it is knowledge, wisdom, forethought, and understanding the First Rule. Even then, that is not always enough.”
― Terry Goodkind, Stone of Tears

“Admitting that you do not know something is the first step to learning.”
― Terry Goodkind

“Sometimes, making the wrong choice is better than making no choice. You have the courage to go forward, that is rare. A person who stands at the fork, unable to pick, will never get anywhere.”
― Terry Goodkind, Wizard's First Rule

“...Wizard's Fifth Rule: Mind what people do, not only what they say, for deeds will betray a lie.”
― Terry Goodkind, Soul of the Fire

“Only those you trust can betray you.”
― Terry Goodkind

“Fate does not seek our consent.”
― Terry Goodkind, Blood of the Fold

“no army has ever marched into battle thinking that the Creator had sided with their enemy.”
― Terry Goodkind, Wizard's First Rule

“Nothing is ever easy”
― Terry Goodkind

“The sun has already set on the days we made those choices. We must concentrate on what we can do tomorrow; we can't relive yesterday.”
― Terry Goodkind

“To exist in this vast universe for a speck of time is the great gift of life. Our tiny sliver of time is our gift of life. It is our only life. The universe will go on, indifferent to our brief existence, but while we are here we touch not just part of that vastness, but also the lives around us. Life is the gift each of us has been given. Each life is our own and no one else's. It is precious beyond all counting. It is the greatest value we can have. Cherish it for what it truly is..... Your life is yours alone. Rise up and live it.”
― Terry Goodkind

“The first law of reason is that what exists, exists; what is, is, and that from this ineducible, bedrock principle, all knowledge is built...that is the foundation from which life is embraced... thinking is a choice...wishes and whims are not facts, nor are they a means to discover them... reason is our only way of grasping reality--it's our basic tool of survival. We are free to evade the effort of thinking--to reject reason--but we are not free to avoid the penalty of the abyss we refuse to see... Reason is the very substance of truth itself. The glory that is life is wholly embraced through reason. In rejecting reason one embraces death.”
― Terry Goodkind, Faith of the Fallen

“People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People’s heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool.”
― Terry Goodkind, Wizard's First Rule

“Charity, if you have the means, is a personal choice, but charity which is expected or compelled is simply a polite word for slavery.”
― Terry Goodkind, The Pillars of Creation

“We all can be only who we are, no more, no less.”
― Terry Goodkind, Stone of Tears

“By my love for you. I realized I loved you more than life itself, and I would rather give myself into your power than live without you. Nothing the magic could do to me could be worse than living without you. I was willing to give it all over to you. I offered the power everything I have. All of my love for you. Once I realized how much I loved you, I was willing to be yours on any terms. I understood that there could be nothing for the magic to harm. I’m already devoted to you; it didn’t need to change me. I was protected, because I have already been untouched by your love. I had utter faith that you felt the same, and had no fear of what would happen. Had I had any doubt, the magic would have latched on to that crack and taken me, but I had no doubt. My love for you is smooth and seamless. My love for you protected me from the magic.”
― Terry Goodkind, Wizard's First Rule

“Your life is your own. Rise up and live it.”
― Terry Goodkind, Faith of the Fallen

“Wrong doing must be punished. If not, it will proliferate until anarchy wears the robes of tolerance and understanding.”
― Terry Goodkind, Blood of the Fold

“Every person's life is theirs by right. An individual's life can and must belong only to to himself, not to any society or community, or he is then but a slave.”
― Terry Goodkind