Terry Goodkind Quotes

Are we our bodies? Is a small person less than a big person, then? If we were our bodies, then when we lost an arm, or a leg, would we be less, would we begin to fade from existence? No. We are the same person.We are not our bodies; we are our thoughts. As they form, they define who we are, and create the reality of our existence.

~ Terry Goodkind

Don't give up the calling, Magda. Know yourself. Know what you are. Though few would admit it, even those on the council, I truly believe we all need you. - Councilman Sadler

~ Terry Goodkind

Why people wanted to dance whenever it got dark was beyond him. Somehow, the two seemed to go together, like bees and flowers, or flies and dung. Darkness and dancing.

~ Terry Goodkind

Life connects us all to magic, as illustrated through the design of the Grace. So, for a Confessor, I don't need a gifted person, just a living one.

~ Terry Goodkind

The Grace represented the world of life, the world of the dead, and the way magic and Creation linked them. The outer circle of the design represented the beginning of the infinite world of the dead. Inside the outer circle was a square, its points just touching the outer circle. Inside the square was another circle, just touching the insides of the square. The area between those two circles with the square represented the world of life. The inside circle was life's beginnings, the outer circle its end, where souls crossed through the veil into the eternity of the underworld. An eight-pointed star inside the smaller circle was the Light of Creation. Lines from the star's points radiated out across the inner circle. the square. and across the outer circle that also symbolized the veil to the wold of the dead. The lines radiating outward from the Light represented the spark of the gift that journeyed with everyone from birth, through life, and on into death.

~ Terry Goodkind

The Grace represents the interconnection of everything, the world of life and the world of the dead, Additive and Subtractive, as well as the spark of the gift that runs though it all. The Grace does more though, than simply represent Additive and Subtractive magic, Creation and obliteration, life and death, it connects them into a cohesive whole. The power of Orden deals with life, death and the whole nature of existence so the key also needs to have both sides. It needs both Additive and Subtractive, life and death to be complete.

~ Terry Goodkind

The chicken thing let out a whispering cackle.

~ Terry Goodkind

Rising to her feet, she shot the Bird Man a furious glare, and then stormed off toward Savidlin's house. She was glad to be away from Richard, to be away from watching those girls pawing him.Her fingernails dug into her palms, but she didn't notice as she marched past the happy people. The dancers danced, the drummers drummed, the children laughed. People she passed wished her well. She wanted one of them to say something mean so she would have an excuse to hit someone.

~ 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

The truth has value.

~ Terry Goodkind

Pity for the guilty is treason to the innocent.

~ Terry Goodkind

Mercy is a contingency plan, devised by the guilty in the eventuality that they are caught. Justice is the domain of the just. - Richard Rahl

~ Terry Goodkind

Freedom requires effort if it is to be won and vigilance if it is to be maintained. People just don't value freedom until it is taken away.

~ Terry Goodkind

Thunder without sound jolted the air around her. The violence of it was magnificent, immaculate, glorious.

~ Terry Goodkind

In the darkest hours we must believe in ourselves.

~ Terry Goodkind

People use democracy as a free-floating abstraction disconnected from reality. Democracy in and of itself is not necessarily good. Gang rape, after all, is democracy in action.All men have the right to live their own life. Democracy must be rooted in a rational philosophy that first and foremost recognizes the right of an individual. A few million Imperial Order men screaming for the lives of a much smaller number of people in the New World may win a democratic vote, but it does not give them the right to those lives, or make their calls for such killing right.Democracy is not a synonym for justice or for freedom. Democracy is not a sacred right sanctifying mob rule. Democracy is a principle that is subordinate to the inalienable rights of the individual.

~ Terry Goodkind

Reasons are the spoils of victory. When you've destroyed the enemy, then your leaders write down the reasons in books, and give moving speeches about them. If you've done your job, then there aren't any of the enemy left to dispute your leader's reasons. At least not until the next war.

~ Terry Goodkind

Richard rubbed his temples. He had a headache from lack of sleep. Don't you understand? This isn't about conquering lands and taking things from others; this is about fighting oppression.The general rested a boot on the gilded rung of a chair and hooked a thumb behind his wide belt. I don't see much difference. From my experience, the Master Rahl always thinks he knows best, and always wants to rule the world. You are your father's son. War is war. Reasons make no difference to us; we fight because we are told to, same as those on the other side. Reasons mean little to a man swinging his sword, trying to keep his head.

~ Terry Goodkind

Safety is only an illusion when evil is on the hunt. I can't stand by and watch. I have to act. It isn't easy to absolve one's self of guilt.

~ Terry Goodkind

Enemies,' the wizard said, 'are the price of honour.

~ Terry Goodkind

If I was a nobody you wouldn't be so eager to see me dead. Just like these people you know that I am devoted to the truth. That is why you want to eliminate me. - Magda Searus

~ Terry Goodkind

The dead must heed them.

~ Terry Goodkind

This was the threshold to the place of the dead.

~ Terry Goodkind

Dance with me, Death, I am ready.

~ Terry Goodkind

Even a foolish old woman like me knows that lazy people don't think for themselves, they only think about themselves.

~ Terry Goodkind

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

But this was no ordinary chicken. This chicken was evil manifest.

~ Terry Goodkind

Information is the coin of war.

~ Terry Goodkind

That’s the worst part, that so many would not value their own unique abilities, not value themselves, much less respect those who have fought and died so that they could live free to make the choice to surrender that precious right of choice –long with their gift and individuality.”She gripped the blanket in a fist. “I often think that the y deserve everything they’re going to get. I only regret that those of us who value what we have will suffer the same fate. They’re the ones I fight for. The rest of them be damned.”Alex swallowed at the pain so clearly evident in her voice. “We have people like that in our world, too. People who say that freedom is no longer practical, that we must surrender it for a greater common good.”“Fear them,” she whispered. “They are the heart of evil. They tolerate tyranny, excuse it, compromise with it. In doing so they always bring savagery and death upon the rest of us.

~ Terry Goodkind

Your life is yours and yours alone. Rise up and live it.

~ Terry Goodkind