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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Religion must remain an outlet for people who say to themselves, "I am not the kind of person I want to be." It must never sink into an assemblage of the self-satisfied.
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To know a thing well, know it's limits; Only when pushed beyond it's tolerance will it's true nature be seen. -The Amtal Rule
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Technology tends toward avoidance of risks by investors. Uncertainty is ruled out if possible. People generally prefer the predictable. Few recognize how destructive this can be, how it imposes severe limits on variability and thus makes whole populations fatally vulnerable to the shocking ways our universe can throw the dice.
Frank HerbertRead
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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