Frank Herbert

Anything outside yourself, this you can see and apply your logic to it. But it's a human trait that when we encounter personal problems, these things most deeply personal are the most difficult to bring out for our logic to scan. We tend to flounder around, blaming everything but the actual, deep-seated thing that's really chewing on us.

Any man who retreats into a cave which has only one opening deserves to die.

A ruler must learn to persuade and not to compel.

Often I must speak otherwise than I think. This is called diplomacy.

The universe does not work by our rules

Face your fears or they will climb over your back.

Most deadly errors arise from obsolete assumptions.

Scientists seek the lawfulness of events. It is the task of Religion to fit man into this lawfulness.

Bureaucracy destroys initiative. There is little that bureaucrats hate more than innovation, especially innovation that produces better results than the old routines. Improvements always make those at the top of the heap look inept. Who enjoys appearing inept?

All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities.

The mind commands the body and it obeys. The mind orders itself and meets resistance.

For now is my grief heavier than the sands of the seas, she thought. This world has emptied me of all but the oldest purpose: tomorrow's life.

The willow submits to the wind and prospers until one day it is many willows - a wall against the wind.

Give as few orders as possible," his father had told him once long ago. "Once you've given orders on a subject, you must always give orders on that subject.

They say they seek security and quiet, the condition they call peace. Even as they speak they create the seeds of turmoil and violence.

Madness in method, that's genius

You don't write for success. That takes part of your attention away from the writing. If you're really doing it, that's all you're doing: writing.

... motivating people, forcing them to your will, gives you a cynical attitude toward humanity. It degrades everything it touches.

If all those around you believe some particular thing, you will soon be tempted to share in that belief.

I live in an apocalyptic dream. My steps fit into it so precisely that I fear most of all I will grow bored reliving the thing so exactly.

We faced it and did not resist. The storm passed through us and around us. It's gone, but we remain.