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As one delves into history—such ancient, chaotic times!—the more facts become fluid, the stories contradictory. Across the ocean of time and fallible memory, true heroes metamorphose into archetypes; battles grow more significant than they actually were. Legends and truth are difficult to reconcile.
There is no such thing as the future. Humankind faces multiple possible futures, many of which hinge on seemingly inconsequential events.
I cannot rescue those who insist on martyring themselves.
“To me, the so-called spiritual or religious beliefs are an incomprehensible human behavior pattern. Now, however, I realize that they use religion as a weapon against me.
There are many forms of religion, yet the faiths with the strongest emotional component seem to center on the existence of a Supreme Being or guiding force. Is this the single most important belief of humans?”
Humans put beliefs and wishful thinking ahead of logic and hard facts.”
Humans are inclined to take irrational actions because their religions give them the righteous high ground.
Believers think of God as an ethereal life-form, although most important religious sects have stories of their deities taking human incarnations.”
From what I have observed, I would conclude that humans are either agnostics or outright atheists, unless they are exposed to extreme pain or stress. Such attitudes go in cycles throughout their history, ebbing and flowing like a great tide of human affairs.
“I still do not grasp the very concept of religion. What purpose does it serve? It seems an imaginary incentive designed to control societal-scale behavior.”
“Understanding basic faith is like trying to hold a wet, moss-covered rock. It is a solid, substantial object, yet slippery and very difficult to grasp.”
“The religious experience is different for all humans, even when they claim to belong to one belief system. Each individual seems to focus on a different aspect of it. There are nuances, subtle variations—like the human emotion o...
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Unfortunately, some wars are won by the side that is the most fanatical in a religious sense. The victorious leaders harness the holy energy of collective insanity.
Humans love to engage in name-calling, since it enables them to categorize an adversary … which invariably involves dehumanizing an opponent.
Loose ends have a way of strangling you.
The human mind, facing no real challenges, soon grows stagnant. Thus it is essential for the survival of mankind as a species to create difficulties, to face them, and to prevail.
In the banquet of life, our daily activities are the main course, and dessert is composed of our dreams.
The only guarantee in life is death, and the only guarantee in death is its shocking unpredictability.
A legend can be an educational tool and a great danger—not only for its followers, but for the subject of the legend himself.
For nine years, he had thrown himself into the jaws of Death—and Death had always spat him back out.
His death wish had grown plain for all to see, yet he continued to live.
Sometimes the line between bravery and recklessness is indistinguishable.
The flesh may not be excused from the laws of matter, but the mind is not so fettered. Thoughts transcend the physics of the brain.
what the people believe—is the only thing that matters.
A symbol always has more power than reality.”
I do not fear death, for I was fortunate to have been born in the first place. This life is a gift, and was never really mine at all.
“I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once.”
My life does not matter, except for what I can do to further freedom. My death today will do more for the cause than all the words and speeches I could have given in my waning years.
Somehow, by failing utterly, certain humans became even stronger.
I control the manner in which I live my life. How history remembers me is another matter altogether.
We carry graveyards in our souls, and lives resurrected.
Time. We always have too little, or too much—never just enough.
I do not give a damn about history. I will do what is right.
And so they wed each other, and worked together to lead the growing band of outlaws in their continued effort to stifle the hemorrhaging flow of melange from Arrakis. All of them swore to defend Shai-Hulud and prevent the taking of spice.
“We can live on this world as we choose, making our own lives and future. We shall never be slaves again!” He sighed with immense pride, and added, “From this day forward we shall call ourselves the Free Men of Arrakis.”
