Frank Herbert's Dune Saga Collection (Dune #1-6)

by Frank Herbert

gossamer

Parsimonious

puerile.

largesse.”

The social forms by which cities make the attempt are worth study. Remember that there exists a certain malevolence about the formation of any social order. It is the struggle for existence by an artificial entity. Despotism and slavery hover at the edges. Many injuries occur and, thus, the need for laws. The law develops its own power structure, creating more wounds and new injustices.

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

sagacious,

You see it repeated in the systems of slavery, of welfare states, of caste-ridden religions, of socializing bureaucracies—in any system which creates and maintains dependencies. Too long a parasite and you cannot exist without a host.

vagaries.

It makes people feel the lack of that which I have taken from them. What did I take from them? The right to participate in history.

“Just a little more time, Lord,” Moneo was saying. “I still don’t know how we will . . .” “There’s no substitute for time in solving many problems,” Leto said. “However, you can place too much reliance on it. I can accept no more delays.”

demiurge

importunate

“We are confronted by a problem that cannot be resolved by logical means,”

“When logic fails, another tool must be used.”

Inviolability

Law always chooses sides on the basis of enforcement power. Morality and legal niceties have little to do with it when the real question is: Who has the clout?

“Remember your philosopher’s doubts, Miles. Beware! The mind of the believer stagnates. It fails to grow outward into an unlimited, infinite universe.”

remonstrated:

“One of the most dangerous things in the universe is an ignorant people with real grievances. That is nowhere near as dangerous, however, as an informed and intelligent society with grievances. The damage that vengeful intelligence can wreak, you cannot even imagine. The Tyrant would seem a benevolent father figure by comparison with what you were about to create!”

picayune

Teg too disliked the accumulated uncertainties, but all plans relied ultimately on the skills of those who executed them.

Intellectual understanding was one thing; experience was another.

The worst potential competition for any organism can come from its own kind. The species consumes necessities. Growth is limited by that necessity which is present in the least amount. The least favorable condition controls the rate of growth. (Law of the Minimum)

circumlocutions.”

odious.

“the innocence that goes naturally with inexperience, a condition often confused with ignorance.”

All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible.

“Show me a completely smooth operation and I’ll show you someone who’s covering mistakes. Real boats rock.”

Delegate heavily to only the same people and you fell into bureaucracy.

aphorism

We are too tightly bound up in our difficulties, almost incapable of separating petty problems from great ones.

But oh, the perils of leadership in a species so anxious to be told what to do. How little they knew of what they created by their demands. Leaders made mistakes. And those mistakes, amplified by the numbers who followed without questioning, moved inevitably toward great disasters.

Power attracts the corruptible. Suspect all who seek it.

Politics: the art of appearing candid and completely open while concealing as much as possible.”

‘The ferocity we display to our foes is always tempered by the lesson we hope to teach.’”

“The slave makes an awful master,”

Never choose a course just because it offers the opportunity for a dramatic gesture.”

Major flaws in government arise from a fear of making radical internal changes even though a need is clearly seen.

“It’s a game where one of the pieces can’t be moved.”

Give me the judgment of balanced minds in preference to laws every time. Codes and manuals create patterned behavior. All patterned behavior tends to go unquestioned, gathering destructive momentum. —DARWI ODRADE

“That is not the same.” A short answer deserved an equally short rejoinder.

There would be repetition. Unresolved issues would emerge. The fact that almost every word Murbella uttered could be anticipated, that would be a trial.

adroitly

riposte!

We witness a passing phase of eternity. Important things happen but some people never notice. Accidents intervene. You are not present at episodes. You depend on reports. And people shutter their minds. What good are reports? History in a news account? Preselected at an editorial conference, digested and excreted by prejudice? Accounts you need seldom come from those who make history. Diaries, memoirs and autobiographies are subjective forms of special pleading. Archives are crammed with such suspect stuff. —DARWI ODRADE

Spend energies on those who make you strong. Energy spent on weaklings drags you to doom.

“Don’t question my loyalty! If you would weaken me, replace me!”

“Beware jargon. It usually hides ignorance and carries little knowledge.”

Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.