Mentats of Dune Quotes

“Just repeating a statement often and with great vehemence does not make it a fact, and no amount of repetition can make a rational person believe it.”
― Brian Herbert, Kevin Anderson, Mentats of Dune

“Every hammer has the innate capacity to strike a nail. Every human mind has the innate capacity for greatness. But not every hammer is properly used, nor is every human mind.”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“As a human being, I was born on the brink of personal destruction, and I have spent my life dancing along the edge of that cliff.”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“Absolute rules are for unthinking people. Sheep require fences—humans do not.”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“Human imagination is a powerful thing. It can be a sanctuary from difficult times, a catalyst to change society, or the impetus to create marvelous works of art. On the other hand, an overabundance of imagination can inspire paranoia that impairs one’s ability to interact with reality. —Suk School Manual, Psychological Studies”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“Anyone who searches for the meaning of life is on a fool’s journey. Human life has no redeeming purpose or value. —the cymek GENERAL AGAMEMNON, A Time for Titans”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“Inflexible convictions are powerful things. But are they a suit of armor or a prison cell? A weapon or a weakness? —EMPEROR JULES CORRINO, strategic briefing on unrest in the former Unallied Planets”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“Successful people sort through priorities and act upon them, while the unsuccessful see only a fog of chaos. —DIRECTEUR JOSEF VENPORT, instruction to business trainees”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“Crossing the line from friend to enemy takes only a small step. The opposite journey, however, is far more difficult. —Zensunni wisdom of the desert”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“We can never atone for all the harm we cause in our lifetimes. We each make decisions based on personal priorities. In the process, people are invariably shunted aside. Someone suffers. —teaching of the new Philosophical Academy”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“in preservation canisters, so they could be installed into any cymek walker. Now”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“environment where students could develop their mental skills through hours of uninterrupted meditation. Gilbertus had chosen this inhospitable area with a specific purpose in mind. He believed the danger and isolation would help focus the”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“Do you not have tribes? Rivalries?"
"Of course," said Taref. "All of us do. I am the son of a Naib."
"The third son of a Naib." Lillis said.
"Because of my two older brothers, I will never rule the tribe.”
― Brian Herbert, Kevin Anderson, Mentats of Dune

“Every person has a powerful urge to return home. We go there to find meaning in our lives, even if our memories of home are filled with sadness.”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“The ideal form of mob behavior is controlled chaos.”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“Crossing the line from friend to enemy takes only a small step. The opposite journey, however, is far more difficult.”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“It is not enough to survive great adversity. You must also share what you learned in the process so that you prevent a recurrence. Otherwise, you widen the scope of the adversity and create a singularity into which even more lives may tumble. This stems from a basic truth: Humans are a collective organism, and that organism performs best when its members recognize their common interests.”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“There were many ways to skin a cat, and cats liked none of them.”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“The wise instructor does not teach everything she knows.”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“A memory can be the most painful punishment,”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“One must be open to receive wisdom from any source at any time,”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“Quem governa assume uma responsabilidade irrevogável pelos governados. Você é um fazendeiro. Isso exige, em certo momentos, um ato de amor altruísta que talvez pareça apenas divertido para aqueles a quem você governa.”
― Frank Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“A razão é a primeira vítima das emoções fortes.”
― Frank Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“O fenômeno da presciência é mal compreendido até mesmo por seus iniciados.”
― Frank Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“Não há a menor distinção entre deuses e homens: as duas coisas se misturam sem cerimônia.”
― Frank Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“People often surprise me, but not usually in a good way.”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“Without their charismatic demagogue to lead them, the chattering monkeys would disperse and find some other idiotic superstition to believe in.”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“In any major conflict, each side fights for its own cause—a belief system they consider worth dying for. Alas, there is not an objective, omnipotent arbiter who can simply decide the merits of each issue and put them to rest without bloodshed, thereby rendering armed conflict obsolete. —GILBERTUS ALBANS, Conversations with Erasmus”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“We are human not because of our physical form, but because of our underlying nature. Even when fitted with a machine body, a man may have a heart and soul … but not always. People made of flesh can be monsters, too. —PTOLEMY, Laboratory Sketches”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune

“threat works only if the recipient believes you are willing to carry through with it. —REVEREND MOTHER RAQUELLA BERTO-ANIRUL”
― Brian Herbert, Mentats of Dune