Terry Goodkind > Quotes

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

“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

“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

“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

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

“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

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

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

“Only those you trust can betray you.”
― 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

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

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

“Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed.”
― Terry Goodkind

“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

“There is no such thing as pure good or pure evil, least of all in people. In the best of us there are thoughts or deeds that are wicked, and in the worst of us, at least some virtue. An adversary is not one who does loathsome acts for their own sake. He always has a reason that to him is justification. My cat eats mice. Does that make him bad? I don't think so, and the cat doesn't think so, but I would bet the mice have a different opinion.”
― 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

“...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

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

“That is the curse of lying, Sister. Once you place that crown of the liar upon your head, you can take it off again, but it leaves a stain for all time.”
― Terry Goodkind, Soul of the Fire

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

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

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

“...you'll find that being a friend is to like a person for who they are, even the parts you don't understand. You don't have to understand, or do the same, or live their lives for them. If you truly care for them, then you want them to be who they are; that was why you liked them in the first place.”
― Terry Goodkind

“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

“When the whole world is crazy, it doesn't pay to be sane.”
― Terry Goodkind, The Pillars of Creation

“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

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

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

“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

“Knowing when to fight is just as important as knowing how.”
― Terry Goodkind, Faith of the Fallen