Wizard's Third Rule: Passion rules reason.

Wizard's Second Rule: The greatest harm can result from the best intentions.

Wizard's Fifth Rule: Mind what people do, not only what they say, for deeds will betray a lie.

"Auguries are oft subtle...and dangerous - thou may deem they mean one thing when they mean something else altogether."

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."

Good government never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern.  The machinery of government is always subordinate to the will of those who administer that machinery.  The most important element of government, therefore, is the method of choosing leaders.

Bureaucracy destroys initiative.  There is little that bureaucrats hate more than innovation, especially innovation that produces better results than the old routines.  Improvements always make those at the top of the heap look inept.  Who enjoys appearing inept?

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

Reason and reality are the only means to just laws; mindless wishes, if given sovereignty, become deadly masters.

Memory never recaptures reality.  Memory reconstructs.  All reconstructions change the original, becoming external frames of reference that inevitably fall short.