15 Quotes by David A. Wells

He had committed no crime. Yet men, armed with steel and magic, were trying to murder him. Alexander had never done anything that justified the forfeiture of his life. He was entitled to live until he had. The man he’d killed had died in the commission of a crime. He’d come to kill and had died instead. Justice done.

We experience only the one moment of the present. The past is only memory and the future only possibility.

If you feel guilt for things you’ve done, then face it and own it because it truly does belong to you, maybe more than anything else in the world. But also learn from it. Let it guide you to act in a way that doesn’t lead you to feel guilty ever again.

Power is as much about perception as it is about capability.

And yet, day in and day out, most people live honorable lives,” Alexander said. “They raise their children, work to provide for their families, help their neighbors and try to do the right thing even when the choice is hard. Human beings are essentially good. We love our children, honor our elders, protect our vulnerable, and give charity to those in need.

The rules provide them with their wealth and power, and the more complex they can make them, the harder it is for people of lesser means to understand and therefore comply. That way, powerful people can always find some legal justification for persecuting those of lesser rank. Large numbers of complex rules also enables corruption to thrive.