The Wizard's Rules, a practical guide for Predicting.

Wizard's First Rule
People are stupid, they will believe something because they want it to be true; or they're afraid it's true.

Given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe its true, or because they're afraid it might be true. Peoples' 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.
Wizard's First Rule: Chapter 36, page 397

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

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.
Stone of Tears: Chapter 63, page 886

Wizard's Third Rule
Passion overrules reason, For better or for worse.

Letting your emotions control your reason may cause trouble for yourself and those around you."
Blood of the Fold: Chapter 43, page 360

Wizard's Fourth Rule
There is magic in sincere forgiveness; in the forgiveness you give, but more so in the forgiveness you receive.
Temple of the Winds: Chapter 41, page 318

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

No matter what your affiliation is, either friend or foe, you should watch the person's actions instead of the lies that they use to decieve you.
Soul of the Fire: Chapter 28, page 205

Wizard's Sixth Rule
The only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason.

The first law of reason is this: what exists, exists; what is, is; and from this irreducible bedrock principle, all knowledge is built. It 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 is 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 that we refuse to see. Faith and feelings are the darkness to reason's light. In rejecting reason, refusing to think, one embraces death.


Quoting Zedd: "...most important rule there is...The Sixth Rule is the hub upon which all rules turn. It is not only the most important rule, but the simplest. Nonetheless, it is the one most often ignored and violated, and by far the most despised. It must be wielded in spite of the ceaseless, howling protests of the wicked."
Faith of the Fallen: Chapter 41, pages 459-460 (paperback)

Wizard's Seventh Rule
Life is the future, not the past.

The past can teach us, through experience, how to accomplish things in the future, comfort us with cherished memories, and provide the foundation of what has already been accomplished. But only the future holds life. To live in the past is to embrace what is dead. To live life to its fullest, each day must be created anew. As rational, thinking beings, we must use our intellect, not a blind devotion to what has come before, to make rational choices.
Pillars of Creation: Chapter 60, page 549

Wizard's Eighth Rule
Talga Vassternich.

Translation: Deserve Victory.

Explanation: "Be justified in your convictions. Be completely committed. Earn what you want and need rather than waiting for others to give you what you desire."
Naked Empire: Chapter 61, page 626

Wizard's Ninth Rule
A contradiction can not exist in reality. Not in part, nor in whole.

To believe in a contradiction is to abdicate your belief in the existence of the world around you and the nature of the things in it, to instead embrace any random impulse that strikes your fancy - to imagine something is real simply because you wish it were. A thing is what it is, it is itself. There can be no contradictions.

Faith is a device of self-delusion, a sleight of hand done with words and emotions founded on any irrational notion that can be dreamed up. Faith is the attempt to coerce truth to surrender to whim. In simple terms, it is trying to breathe life into a lie by trying to outshine reality with the beauty of wishes. Faith is the refuge of fools, the ignorant, and the deluded, not of thinking, rational men.

In reality, contradictions cannot exist. To believe in them you must abandon the most important thing you possess: your rational mind. The wager for such a bargain is your life. In such an exchange, you always lose what you have at stake.
Chainfire: Chapter 48, page 489

Wizard's Tenth Rule
Willfully turning aside from the truth is treason to one's self.

Explanation: The truth is what should motivate your life, not the lies, or you will fall victim to the first rule and if you ignore the truth you're betraying everything that you believe in, because the lie is more convenient to you than reality.
Phantom: Chapter 12, page 127

Wizard's Eleventh and Final Rule
The "Rule Unspoken", the "Rule Unwritten", "The rule from the beginning of time."

Confessor

The final rule can not directly be quoted, yet using the final book of the series "Confessor" it can be understood. In Confessor, Richard goes through great struggle to obtain a book left for him by Baraccus, a great wizard from the past. Richard believes this book entitled Secrets to a War Wizard's Power will be a means for him to finally understand how to use his gift and therefore in essence be the solution to major problems. Once he obtains the book however, its pages are blank and his grandfather Zedd informs him that Baraccus left it blank to illustrate the meaning of the rule unwritten. Using this knowledge Richard reasons that "The Book of Counted Shadows" could not possibly be the key to the boxes of orden, and that in fact the Sword of Truth was the only way to harness Orden's power of life itself. Incalculable effort had been put into obtaining the knowledge contained in "The Book of Counted Shadows" by Jagang and the Sisters of the Dark, and in the past that it was well protected, yet when the Sisters of the Dark finally used it that effort was all for nothing. As far as the knowledge within the book was concerned, there was 'nothing in it', much like Secrets to a War Wizard's Power. The Sword of Truth, representative of its namesake, was key to life. The secret to Richard's power is that he seeks the truth. In seeking truth he turns a blind eye to corrupt ideas and embraces that which is the essence of life itself. The Sisters of the Dark assumed the truth to be what they had always been told by others and never thought to verify it themselves. The price they paid for such an oversight was their lives. Moreover, the sisters would never have been able to access the power of life even with the sword because they were acting through hate. Richard, on the other hand, intended to use the power to help those he cared about and thus had the ability to harness the power of life. "those who have come here to hate should leave now, for in their hatred they only betray themselves" - translated from The Book of Life. That book too was empty to the sisters because of the path they followed.

One must always seek the truth in life for themselves, rather than simply believing that which they are told without their own rational understanding and justification for that belief. Failure to do so can lead to a life of clinging to empty promises and following trails of false hope. The knowledge gained through seeking the truth, if used for the purposes of good, is the key to enjoying life to its fullest. Those who use the truth for hate however, only betray themselves.

reply to post by Section69


While I would not say I am a wizard.

After reading your post, I would say that I have tried to live my life by these rules because they are just plain old common sense.

I fail sometimes, but hey, I'm human.

Those are good rules.

The only one I disagree with is that "life is in the future." No. It isnt. Life is in the present. You can try to prepare for the future, to some degree, but your future is not guaranteed, and if you dont live properly in the present, you may have no future at all.

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
Those are good rules.

The only one I disagree with is that "life is in the future." No. It isnt. Life is in the present. You can try to prepare for the future, to some degree, but your future is not guaranteed, and if you dont live properly in the present, you may have no future at all.

I think life is everywhere even if it dies on earth, but living in the present without regard to the future is leaving your life up to chance. I do agree though balance is key.

reply to post by Section69


Well, if you want to stretch the definition of "life" past the biological one, you may have a point. But if you are going to use the term that way, then the rule sucks even worse.

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
reply to post by Section69

 

Well, if you want to stretch the definition of "life" past the biological one, you may have a point. But if you are going to use the term that way, then the rule sucks even worse.

What about Cybernetic life, androids and such.

reply to post by Section69


en.wikipedia.org...

Life (cf. biota) is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes (i. e., living organisms) from those that do not,[1][2] either because such functions have ceased (death), or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate.[3][4] Biology is the science concerned with the study of life.

If those androids etc are not self sustaining, they do not meet the definition of "life." Like I said, if you want to make the word "life" mean just whatever you want it to, fine. But thats pretty well cheating. Words have meanings for a reason.

While I agree with the Wizard that life is not about the past, its also not in the future, its in the present. The "magikal" secret to having a better future is to live life properly in the present. Not to ignore the present and focus on the future. Too many people do that. "We will do x." Instead of "I am doing x." People put off action indefinitely. Just look at peoples lives, the world, our country.

And, thats why I disagree with that rule. Act in a principled way, with honor and integrity now, and you dont NEED to worry as much about the future. Because the seeds you are planting today will produce fruit you will be happy to sow if you are around to do so tomorrow.

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
reply to post by Section69

 

en.wikipedia.org...

Life (cf. biota) is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes (i. e., living organisms) from those that do not,[1][2] either because such functions have ceased (death), or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate.[3][4] Biology is the science concerned with the study of life.

If those androids etc are not self sustaining, they do not meet the definition of "life." Like I said, if you want to make the word "life" mean just whatever you want it to, fine. But thats pretty well cheating. Words have meanings for a reason.

While I agree with the Wizard that life is not about the past, its also not in the future, its in the present. The "magikal" secret to having a better future is to live life properly in the present. Not to ignore the present and focus on the future. Too many people do that. "We will do x." Instead of "I am doing x." People put off action indefinitely. Just look at peoples lives, the world, our country.

And, thats why I disagree with that rule. Act in a principled way, with honor and integrity now, and you dont NEED to worry as much about the future. Because the seeds you are planting today will produce fruit you will be happy to sow if you are around to do so tomorrow.

Humans aren't self-sustaining, we need 2 humans to make a human, and we need food, water, shelter, etc. if we expect to survive, this can only be done correctly with proper planning.

I totally agree with you about how people put off actions indefinitely, but I think it's either laziness, or too much living in the present (in other words not planning for and preparing for the future). Some people because of their environment though don't really know how to act in a principled way, with honor and integrity. We can only understand those things when we compare where we were, to where we are, and to where we think we're going. Its all kind of important I think.

The hybrid option sounds better to me, live in the present, plan for the future.

In the Future the Present is History.

Awesome, absolutely LOVE these books!

Originally posted by Mister_Bit
Awesome, absolutely LOVE these books!

I've never read them, but my friend was adamant about how good they were. The Wizards rules I thought were very enlightening.