Thus spoke St. Alia-of-the-Knife: "The Reverend Mother must combine the
seductive wiles of a courtesan with the untouchable majesty of a virgin
goddess, holding these attributes in tension so long as the powers of her youth
endure. For when youth and beauty have gone, she will find that the
place-between, once occupied by tension, has become a wellspring of cunning and
resourcefulness."

-from "Muad'Dib, Family Commentaries" by the Princess Irulan