My father once told me that respect for truth comes close to being the basis for all morality. 'Something cannot emerge from nothing,' he said. This is profound thinking if you understand how unstable 'the truth' can be.
Frank HerbertRead
There has never been a truly selfless rebel, just hypocrites—conscious hypocrites or unconscious hypocrites, it’s all the same.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that rebels, no matter their intentions, are ultimately self-serving and may be hypocritical in their actions.
Frank Herbert's quote reflects on the nature of rebellion and selflessness, proposing that true selflessness is an illusion among rebels. Whether consciously aware or not, rebels often act out of personal motivations, thus rendering their claims of selflessness hypocritical. This raises deeper questions about the motivations behind activism and rebellion, highlighting the complexity of human intentions.
Themes
RebellionHypocrisySelflessnessIntentionsActivism
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on activism, one might use this quote to illustrate the complexities of motives in social movements.
More from Frank Herbert
All quotes →If you need something to worship, then worship life - all life, every last crawling bit of it! We're all in this beauty together!
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It is impossible to live in the past, difficult to live in the present and a waste to live in the future.
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Most of life is so dull that there is nothing to be said about it, and the books and talk that would describe it as interesting are obliged to exaggerate, in the hope of justifying their own existence.
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No rock so hard but that a little wave may beat admission in a thousand years.
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