dune house harkonnen quotes

Discovery is dangerous . . . but so is life. A man unwilling to take risk is
doomed never to learn, never to grow, never to live.

-PLANETOLOGIST PARDOT KYNES, An Arrakis Primer, written for his son Liet

Dreams are as simple or as complicated as the dreamer.

-LIET-KYNES, In the Footsteps of My Father

Thinking, and the methods by which thoughts are communicated, inevitably create
a system permeated by illusions.

-Zensunni Teaching

One uses power by grasping it lightly. To grasp with too much force is to be
taken over by power, thus becoming its victim.

-Bene Gesserit Axiom

A man who persists in stalking game in a place where there is none may wait
forever without finding any success. Persistence in search is not enough.

-Zensunni Wisdom of the Wanderings

Never be in the company of anyone with whom you would not want to die.

-Fremen Saying

The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be
experienced.

-Meditations from Bifrost Eyrie, Buddislamic Text

The ego is only a bit of consciousness swimming upon the ocean of dark things.
We are an enigma unto ourselves.

-The Mentat Handbook

The effective ruler punishes opposition while rewarding assistance; he shifts
his forces in random fashion; he conceals major elements of his power; he sets
up a rhythm of counter movement that keeps opponents off balance.

-WESTHEIMER ATREIDES, Elements of Leadership

To keep from dying is not the same as "to live."

-Bene Gesserit Saying

Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to
believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.

-CAEDMON ERB, Politics and Reality

When you ask a question, do you truly want to know the answer, or are you
merely flaunting your power?

-DMITRI HARKONNEN, Notes to My Sons

It is true that one may become rich through practicing evil, but the power of
Truth and Justice is that they endure . . . and that a man can say of them,
"They are a heritage from my father."

-Fifth Dynasty (Old Terra) calendar: The Wisdom of Ptahhotep

The purpose of argument is to change the nature of truth.

-Bene Gesserit Precept

Special knowledge can be a terrible disadvantage if it leads you too far along
a path that you cannot explain anymore.

-Mentat Admonition

The universe is our picture. Only the immature imagine the cosmos to be what
they think it is.

-SIGAN VISEE, First Head Instructor, Guild Navigator School

Military victories are meaningless unless they reflect the wishes of the
populace. An Emperor exists only to clarify those wishes. He executes the
popular will, or his time is short.

-Principium, Imperial Leadership Academy

Too much knowledge never makes for simple decisions.

-CROWN PRINCE RAPHAEL CORRINO, Discourses on Leadership