‘But our Loremasters, instead of respecting such things, tried to circumvent them. Some of them believe, to this day, as many Men do, that the world and everything in it was created for our use, and that they may do with it as they see fit. Many do not rely on even that much of an excuse; such minds conceive in terms of their own unreasoning and arrogant presumption.
‘Why would our Loremasters harbour such dangerous beliefs, if they are such obvious lies? The answer is so simple that it is easily overlooked. Consider: in times of impoverishment, instability and uncertainty, people often speak of such things as peace and prosperity, as though these were the most desireable of commodities. But as a society, when such things are actually attained, that society’s citizenry, within the space of a few short years, loses sight of its original goals, because they are no longer goals; once attained they are the state of one’s existence, and are therefore taken for granted.
‘Consequently, people begin setting other goals, and other standards, in effect drifting away from the ideals previously set. The simple truth is that those who have known want are the most generous in their naïve idealism, and those who have never experienced want or hardship are not only the most selfish, but are also the most ignorant, are more inflexible in their ideas, and in general are a lesser grade of people.