Quotes from Brian Herbert

There are those who see influence and power as a reward rather than a responsibility. Such men do not make good leaders. —DIRECTEUR JOSEF VENPORT, internal Venport Holdings memo

Once the wonders of space are opened up to a Guild Navigator's mind, what other decorations are necessary? How can any ornamentation rival the wonders a Navigator sees on a single journey through foldspace? The universe, brother! The whole universe." C'tair nodded, conceding the point. "All right

Knowledge is pitiless.

In the vast canvas of the Imperium, no explorer or prospector had found melange on any other planet, nor had anyone succeeded in synthesizing a substitute, despite centuries of attempts

It requires a desperate and lonely sort of courage to challenge the accepted wisdom upon which social peace of mind rests.

Do we derive our identity, our worth, from our families or from ourselves? —REVEREND MOTHER RAQUELLA BERTO-ANIRUL, Sisterhood Training Manual

If you do not face your weaknesses, how do you know where to be strong?

Humans must never submit to animals. —Bene Gesserit Teaching

The Baron had a monopoly on Arrakis—but it was also a monopoly based on ignorance. He gritted his teeth and knew

The haughty do but build castle walls behind which they try to hide their doubts and fears.

Historically, great progress comes about through bold visions. Only weak leaders make decisions based upon the phrase "Thus it has always been done." —JAXSON ARU, Justifications for the Noble Commonwealth, widely distributed leaflet

Logic and reason are deceptive. They can lead a person to lose his soul. —MANFORD TORONDO, speech on Salusa Secundus

Every person can be manipulated—and all of us are, in one manner or another. —wisdom of the Cogitors

The human body is a machine, a system of organic chemicals, fluid conduits, electrical impulses; a government is likewise a machine of interacting societies, laws, cultures, rewards and punishments, patterns of behavior. Ultimately, the universe itself is a machine, planets around suns, stars gathered into clusters, clusters and other suns forming entire galaxies.… Our job is to keep the machinery functioning.

Without their charismatic demagogue to lead them, the chattering monkeys would disperse and find some other idiotic superstition to believe in.

Each human being is a time machine. —Zensunni Fire Poetry

The path of human destiny is not level, but fraught with high summits and deep chasms. —the Azhar Book

Machines are fully functional from the day of their programming." Erasmus sounded smug. "That explains a lot. For us, life is a gradual developmental process. Without nurturing, we can't survive," she said. "You have never been nurtured. I think you should make improvements to the way you raise the slave children in your pens. Show them more kindness, encourage their curiosity.

The wild desolation of the place whetted my interest in ecology. It's so much more interesting to study a Ã¢â'¬Â¦ damaged world. I find it difficult to learn anything in a place that's too civilized.

It seemed to Jessica that love was something a machine could not experience, and humans had defeated thinking machines in the Butlerian Jihad, millennia ago. But if humans were the victors, why did this remnant of non-humanity—the savagery of the gom jabbar—thrive in one of the Great Schools? Savagery was as much a part of the human psyche as love. One could not exist without the other.

The universe is a playground of improvisation—it follows no external pattern. —COGITOR RETICULUS, Observations from a Height of a Thousand Years

Arrakis!" Kynes could not restrain his astonishment—and yes, pleasure—at the prospect. "I believe the nomadic Fremen inhabitants call it Dune.

Any training school for free citizens must begin by teaching distrust, not trust. It must teach questioning, not acceptance of stock answers.

The best leaders assemble information and take actions that lead to political stability. The worst leaders dissemble information and generate chaos. —A lesson from Imperial history