Quotes From "God Emperor Of Dune" By Frank Herbert

Military foolishness is ultimately suicidal. They believe that by risking death they pay the price of any violent behavior against enemies of their own choosing. They have the invader mentality, that false sense of freedom from responsibility for your own actions. Frank Herbert

I never thought it would be easy to serve God, " she said. "I just didn't think it would be this hard. Frank Herbert

If we deny the need for thought, Moneo, as some do, we lose the powers of reflection; we cannot define what our senses report. If we deny the flesh, we unwheel the vehicle which bears us. But if we deny emotion, we lose all touch with our internal universe. It was emotions which I missed the most. Frank Herbert

Each of us comes into being knowing who he is and what he is supposed to do.' ... 'Small children know, ' Leto said. 'It's only after adults have confused them that children hide this knowledge even from themselves. Frank Herbert

We had something few experience. We were joined in our strengths rather than in our weaknesses. Frank Herbert

It is difficult to live in the present, pointless to live in the future and impossible to live in the past. Frank Herbert

My Uncle Malky always said the Lord Leto never responded to prayer. He said the Lord Leto looked on prayer as attempted coercion, a form of violence against the chosen god, telling the immortal what to do: Give me a miracle, God, or I won't believe in you! Frank Herbert

Dangers lurk in all systems. Systems incorporate the unexamined beliefs of their creators. Adopt a system, accept its beliefs, and you help strengthen the resistance to change Frank Herbert

This wise man observed that wealth is a tool of freedom. But the pursuit of wealth is the way to slavery. Frank Herbert

Small souls who seek power over others first destroy the faith those others might have in themselves. Frank Herbert

Only fools prefer the past! Frank Herbert

It has occurred to me more than once that holy boredom is good and sufficient reason for the invention of free will. Frank Herbert

No matter how much we ask after the truth, self-awareness is often unpleasant. We do not feel kindly toward the Truthsayer. Frank Herbert

I warn you that ignorance thrives on hysteria. Frank Herbert

Money said, "I warn you that ignorance thrives on hysteria. Frank Herbert

I point out to you, Marcus Claire Luyseyal, a lesson from past over-machined societies which you appear not to have learned. The devices themselves condition theusers to employ each other the way they employ machines. Frank Herbert

Most civilisation is based on cowardice. It's so easy to civilize by teaching cowardice. You water down the standards which would lead to bravery. You restrain the will. You regulate the appetites. You fence in the horizons. You make a law for every movement. You deny the existence of chaos. You teach even the children to breathe slowly. You tame. Frank Herbert

For what do you hunger, Lord?” Moneo ventured.“ For a humankind which can make truly long-term decisions. Do you know the key to that ability, Moneo?”“You have said it many times, Lord. It is the ability to change your mind. Frank Herbert

Do you know what guerrillas often say? They claim that their rebellions are invulnerable to economic warfare because they have no economy, that they are parasitic on those they would overthrow. The fools merely fail to access the coin in which they must inevitably pay. The pattern is inexorable in its degenerative failures. You see it repeated in the systems of slavery, of welfare states, of caste-ridden religions, of socializing bureaucracies -- in any system in which creates and maintains dependencies. Too long a parasite and you cannot exist without a host. Frank Herbert

Police are inevitably corrupted.... Police always observe that criminals prosper. It takes a pretty dull policeman to miss the fact that the position of authority is the most prosperous criminal position available. Frank Herbert

Caution is the path to mediocrity. Gliding, passionless mediocrity is all that most people think they can achieve. Frank Herbert

Chance is the nature of our universe. […] madness represents a chaotic reservoir of surprises. Some surprises can be valuable. Frank Herbert