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When she thought of the largely passive non–Bene Gesserit populace “out there,” Odrade sometimes envied them. They were permitted their illusions. What a comfort. You could pretend your life was forever, that tomorrow would be better, that the gods in their heavens watched you with care.
The unclouded eye was better, no matter what it saw.
Many things we do naturally become difficult only when we try to make them intellectual subjects. It is possible to know so much about a subject that you become totally ignorant.
“Show me a completely smooth operation and I’ll show you someone who’s covering mistakes. Real boats rock.”
A right to rule? It did not appear to Odrade that these women insisted on such a right. No. They assumed that their rightness must never be questioned. Never! No decisions wrong. Disregard consequences. It never happened.
Right. That sounds familiar now.
The best art imitates life in a compelling way. If it imitates a dream, it must be a dream of life. Otherwise, there is no place where we can connect. Our plugs don’t fit. —DARWI ODRADE
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
Caveat : things that work in companies do not work in countries.
Mens sana in corpore sano.
“The Tyrant knew,” Teg said. “Duncan quotes him: ‘War is behavior with roots in the single cell of the primeval seas. Eat whatever you touch or it will eat you.’”
Making workable choices occurs in a crucible of informative mistakes. Thus Intelligence accepts fallibility. And when absolute (infallible) choices are not known, Intelligence takes chances with limited data in an arena where mistakes are not only possible but also necessary.
Projections palled. Too far removed from dirt. You could not draw a finger down a projection and say, “We will go down here.” A finger in a projection was a finger in empty air. Eyes are never enough. The body must feel its world.
“Exercise restraint. Be sure of your ground. One hand for yourself and one for the ship.”
There’s no secret to balance. You just have to feel the waves.
