# Quote — David Gemmell, The Swords of Night and Day

> Self-preservation is a paramount desire in all of us. Good and evil are interchangeable. When the wolves pull down a fawn I don't doubt the doe would consider it an evil act. For the wolves it is a necessity, and they would see the arrival of fresh meat as good.

- Author: [David Gemmell](https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell.md)
- Book: [The Swords of Night and Day](https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell/the-swords-of-night-and-day.md)
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Gemmell#The_Swords_of_Night_and_Day) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell/the-swords-of-night-and-day/self-preservation-is-a-paramount

## More from this book

> All legends have a base in fact.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell/the-swords-of-night-and-day/all-legends-have.md)

> In my experience all women deserve someone better.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell/the-swords-of-night-and-day/in-my-experience.md)

> It is the curse of absolute power, Olek. There is no one to admonish you, no laws save those you make. We like to believe there is something special, even alien, about evil. We like to think that tyrants are different from the rest of us. That they are somehow inhuman. They are not. They are merely unchained, unfettered; free to do as they please.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell/the-swords-of-night-and-day/it-is-the.md)