25 Quotes From The Greatest Science Fiction Author To Have Ever Lived

By

Frank Herbert, the celebrated author of the Dune series. If you haven’t read Dune yet, I suggest you do. Do not watch the movie! (Some authors to read: Larry Niven, Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, and William Gibson)
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty. Chapterhouse: Dune
There is no escape—we pay for the violence of our ancestors. Dune
Truth suffers from too much analysis. Dune Messiah
What do you despise? By this are you truly known. Dune
Hope clouds observation. Dune
Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic. Dune
The mind can go either direction under stress—toward positive or toward negative: on or off. Think of it as a spectrum whose extremes are unconsciousness at the negative end and hyperconsciousness at the positive end. The way the mind will lean under stress is strongly influenced by training. Dune
Do actions agree with words? There’s your measure of reliability. Never confine yourself to the words. Chapterhouse: Dune
The purpose of argument is to change the nature of truth. Children of Dune
Empires do not suffer emptiness of purpose at the time of their creation. It is when they have become established that aims are lost and replaced by vague ritual. Dune Messiah
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. Dune
The child who refuses to travel in the father’s harness, this is the symbol of man’s most unique capability. “I do not have to be what my father was. I do not have to obey my father’s rules or even believe everything he believed. It is my strength as a human that I can make my own choices of what to believe and what not to believe, of what to be and what not to be. Children of Dune
It is so shocking to find out how many people do not believe that they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult. Dune
The mind commands the body and it obeys. The mind orders itself and meets resistance. Dune
Most civilisation is based on cowardice. It’s so easy to civilize by teaching cowardice. You water down the standards which would lead to bravery. You restrain the will. You regulate the appetites. You fence in the horizons. You make a law for every movement. You deny the existence of chaos. You teach even the children to breathe slowly. You tame. God Emperor of Dune
Survival is the ability to swim in strange water. Dune
Power attracts the corruptible. Suspect any who seek it. Chapterhouse: Dune
If you need something to worship, then worship life – all life, every last crawling bit of it! We’re all in this beauty together! Dune Messiah
The flesh surrenders itself. Eternity takes back its own. Our bodies stirred these waters briefly, danced with a certain intoxication before the love of life and self, dealt with a few strange ideas, then submitted to the instruments of Time. What can we say of this? I occurred. I am not…yet, I occurred. Dune Messiah
The surest way to keep a secret is to make someone think they already know the answer. Heretics of Dune
Highly organized research is guaranteed to produce nothing new. Dune
Face your fears or they will climb over your back. Chapterhouse: Dune
Show me a completely smooth operation and I’ll show you someone who’s covering mistakes. Real boats rock. Chapterhouse: Dune
The truth always carries the ambiguity of the words used to express it. God Emperor of Dune
He who controls the spice controls the universe. Dune

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