I Don’t Think It’s Quite That Simple. Some People Never Observe Anything, Life Just Happens To Them. They Get By On Little More Than A Kind Of Dumb Persistence, And They Resist With Anger And Resentment Anything That Might Lift Them Out Of That False Serenity.

-Frank Herbert

Please Wait....
Translating....

I Don’t Think It’s

Frank Herbert

Topic

Persistence

Simple

Thinking

More From Frank Herbert

Historians Exercise Great Power And Some Of Them Know It. They Recreate The Past, Changing It To Fit Their Own Interpretations. Thus, They Change The Future As Well.

Exercise

Past

Fit

A Ruler Must Learn To Persuade And Not To Compel.

Rulers

To Determine If You're Human. Be Silent.

Silent

Determine

Humans

Justice Required Resort To Law And That Could Be A Fickle Mistress, Subject Always To The Whims And Prejudices Of Those Who Administered The Laws.

Law

Justice

Mistress

Law Always Chooses Sides On The Basis Of Enforcement Power. Morality And Legal Niceties Have Little To Do With It When The Real Question Is: Who Has The Clout?

Real

Law

Enforcement

When Politics And Religion Are Intermingled, A People Is Suffused With A Sense Of Invulnerability, And Gathering Speed In Their Forward Charge, They Fail To See The Cliff Ahead Of Them

People

Gathering

Cliffs

I'm The Well-trained Fruit Tree. Full Of Well-trained Feelings And Abilities And All Of Them Grafted Onto Me

Tree

Feelings

Fruit

Ideas Are A Dime A Dozen. It's Execution That Counts.

Ideas

Dimes

Dozen

Educational Bureaucracies Dull A Child's Questing Sensitivity.

Children

Educational

Dull

The Thing The Ecologically Illiterate Don't Realize About An Ecosystem Is That It's A System. A System! A System Maintains A Certain Fluid Stability That Can Be Destroyed By A Misstep In Just One Niche.

Ecosystems

Niche

Realizing

Remember: Bureaucracy Elevates Conformity ... Make That Elevates 'fatal Stupidity' To The Status Of Religion.

Stupidity

Conformity

Remember

The Hearts Of All Men Dwell In The Same Wilderness.

Life

Heart

Men

A World Is Supported By Four Things: The Learning Of Wise, The Justice Of Great, The Prayers Of The Righteous And The Valor Of The Brave. But All Of These Are As Nothing Without A Ruler Who Knows The Art Of Ruling.

Wise

Art

Prayer

The Writing Of History Is Largely A Process Of Diversion. Most Historical Accounts Distract Attention From The Secret Influences Behind Great Events.

Writing

Historical

Secret

The Singular Multiplicity Of This Universe Draws My Deepest Attention. It Is A Thing Of Ultimate Beauty. Leto Ii

Attention

Draws

Ultimate

All Governments Suffer A Recurring Problem: Power Attracts Pathological Personalities. It Is Not That Power Corrupts But That It Is Magnetic To The Corruptible.

War

Power Corrupts

Magnet

Life - All Life - Is In The Service Of Life. Necessary Nutrients Are Made Available To Life By Life In Greater And Greater Richness As The Diversity Of Life Increases. The Entire Landscape Comes Alive, Filled With Relationships And Relationships Within Relationships.

Diversity

Alive

Landscape

There Is No Escape - We Pay For The Violence Of Our Ancestors.

Pay

Violence

Thrive

Order Generally Was A Product Of Human Activity. Chaos Existed As A Raw Material From Which To Create Order.

Order

Raw Materials

Chaos

We Bene Gesserit Sift People To Find The Humans.

People

Humans

We Accept Too Damned Many Things On The Explanations Of People Who Could Have Good Reasons For Lying.

Lying

People

Reason

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.

Motivational

Inspiring

Leadership

Beware! The Mind Of The Believer Stagnates. It Fails To Grow Outward Into An Unlimited, Infinite Universe.

Mind

Belief

Failing

All Proofs Inevitably Lead To Propositions Which Have No Proof! All Things Are Known Because We Want To Believe In Them.

Believe

Want

Proof

Confine Yourself To Observing And You Always Miss The Point Of Your Life. The Object Can Be Stated This Way: Live The Best Life You Can. Life Is A Game Whose Rules You Learn If You Leap Into It And Play It To The Hilt. Otherwise, You Are Caught Off Balance, Continually Surprised By The Shifting Play. Non-players Often Whine And Complain That Luck Always Passes Them By. They Refuse To See That They Can Create Some Of Their Own Luck. Darwi Odrade - Chapterhouse: Dune

Player

Games

Missing

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.

Encounters

Logic

Blame

The Universe Does Not Work By Our Rules

Doe

Universe

The Willow Submits To The Wind And Prospers Until One Day It Is Many Willows - A Wall Against The Wind.

Wall

Wind

One Day

Journalism Is The Entertainment Business.

Entertainment

Journalism

Entertainment Business

Every Judgment Teeters On The Brink Of Error. To Claim Absolute Knowledge Is To Become Monstrous. Knowledge Is An Unending Adventure At The Edge Of Uncertainty.

Adventure

Errors

Atheism

A Creature Who Has Spent His Life Creating One Particular Representation Of His Selfdom Will Die Rather Than Become The Antithesis Of That Representation

Creating

Antithesis

Particular

When A Creature Has Developed Into One Thing, He Will Choose Death Rather Than Change Into His Opposite.

Opposites

Creatures

One Thing

You Should Never Be In The Company Of Anyone With Whom You Would Not Want To Die.

Want

Should

Company

The Mind Commands The Body And It Obeys. The Mind Orders Itself And Meets Resistance.

Order

Mind

Body

It Is So Shocking To Find Out How Many People Do Not Believe That They Can Learn, And How Many More Believe Learning To Be Difficult.

Believe

People

Difficult

The Most Important Survival Ability For Any Life Form Is The Ability To Change.

Survival

Important

Form

There Is Probably No More Terrible Instant Of Enlightenment Than The One In Which You Discover Your Father Is A Man - With Human Flesh.

Father

Men

Flesh

A Requirement Of Creativity Is That It Contributes To Change. Creativity Keeps The Creator Alive.

Creativity

Alive

Requirements

Does A Population Have Informed Consent When That Population Is Not Taught The Inner Workings Of Its Monetary System, And Then Is Drawn, All Unknowing, Into Economic Adventures?

Adventure

Population

Doe

But It's Well Known That Repression Makes A Religion Flourish.

Well Known

Wells

Repression

Fear Is The Mind-killer.

Fear

Mind

Killers

Good Subjects Must Feel Guilty. The Guilt Begins As A Feeling Of Failure. The Good Autocrat Provides Many Opportunities For Failure In The Populace.

Opportunity

Feelings

Guilt

Educational Bureaucracies Dull A Child's Questing Sensitivity. The Young Must Be Dampened Down. Never Let Them Know How Good They Can Be. That Brings Change. Spend Lots Of Committee Time Talking About How To Deal With Exceptional Students. Don't Spend Any Time Dealing With How The Conventional Teacher Feels Threatened By Emerging Talents And Squelches Them Because Of A Deep-seated Desire To Feel Superior And Safe In A Safe Environment.

Teacher

Children

Educational

Religion, Too, Is A Weapon. What Manner Of Weapon Is Religion When It Becomes The Government?

Government

Weapons

Try To Hold On To Youth And It Mocks You While It Sprints Away.

Trying

Youth

Sprint

Silence Is Often The Best Thing To Say.

Silence

Silence Is

Best Things

Emotions Are The Curse Of Logic.

Emotion

Logic

Curse

I'm Going To Rub Your Faces In Things You Try To Avoid. I Don't Find It Strange That All You Want To Believe Is Only That Which Comforts You. How Else Do Humans Invent The Traps Which Betray Us Into Mediocrity? How Else Do We Define Cowardice?

Believe

Trying

Comfort

Governments Always Commit Their Entire Populations When The Demands Grow Heavy Enough. By Their Passive Acceptance, These Populations Become Accessories To Whatever Is Done In Their Name.

Acceptance

Government

Names

If You Need Something To Worship, Then Worship Life - All Life, Every Last Crawling Bit Of It! We're All In This Beauty Together!

Life

Together

Needs

In All Of My Universe I Have Seen No Law Of Nature, Unchanging And Inexorable. This Universe Presents Only Changing Relationships Which Are Sometimes Seen As Laws By Short-lived Awareness. These Fleshy Sensoria Which We Call Self Are Ephemera Withering In The Blaze Of Infinity, Fleeting Aware Of Temporary Conditions Which Confine Our Activities And Change As Our Activities Change. If You Must Label The Absolute, Use Its Proper Name: Temporary.

Self

Law

Names

The Greatest And Most Important Problems Of Life Cannot Be Solved. They Can Only Be Outgrown.

Important

Problem

The Young Reed Dies So Easily. Beginnings Are Times Of Great Peril.

Reeds

Peril

Young

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.

Dream

Bored

Steps

Scientists Seek The Lawfulness Of Events. It Is The Task Of Religion To Fit Man Into This Lawfulness.

Men

Events

Tasks

We Are Questioning More Than The Philosophy Behind Our Dependence Upon Limited And Limiting Systems. We Question The Power Structures That Have Grown Up Around Such Systems.

Philosophy

Structure

Questioning

The Past Is No Farther Away Than Your Pillow.

Past

Pillow

Every Civilization Depends Upon The Quality Of The Individuals It Produces.

Civilization

Quality

Individual

This Is The Awe-inspiring Universe Of Magic: There Are No Atoms, Only Waves And Motions All Around. Here, You Discard All Belief In Barriers To Understanding. You Put Aside Understanding Itself. This Universe Cannot Be Seen, Cannot Be Heard, Cannot Be Detected In Any Way By Fixed Perceptions. It Is The Ultimate Void Where No Preordained Screens Occur Upon Which Forms May Be Projected. You Have Only One Awareness Here—the Screen Of The Magi: Imagination! Here, You Learn What It Is To Be Human. You Are A Creator Of Order, Of Beautiful Shapes And Systems, An Organizer Of Chaos.

Beautiful

Order

Imagination

Ultimately, All Things Are Known Because You Want To Believe You Know.

Believe

Want

All Things

Men Always Fear Things Which Move By Themselves.

Moving

Men

I Give You The Chameleon, Whose Ability To Blend Itself Into The Background Tells You All You Need To Know About The Roots Of Ecology And The Foundations Of A Personal Identity

Roots

Giving

Identity

You Can't Build Politics On Love. People Aren't Concerned With Love; It's Too Disordered. They Prefer Despotism. Too Much Freedom Breeds Chaos.

People

Too Much

Chaos

Beyond A Critical Point Within A Finite Space, Freedom Diminishes As Numbers Increase. This Is As True Of Humans As It Is Of Gas Molecules In A Sealed Flask. The Human Question Is Not How Many Can Possibly Survive Within The System, But What Kind Of Existence Is Possible For Those Who So Survive.

Numbers

Space

Molecules

Most Believe That A Satisfactory Future Requires A Return To An Idealized Past, A Past Which Never In Fact Existed.

Believe

Past

Return

Education Is No Substitute For Intelligence. That Elusive Quality Is Defined Only In Part By Puzzle-solving Ability. It Is In The Creation Of New Puzzles Reflecting What Your Senses Report That You Round Out The Definitions.

Quality

Definitions

Creation

Time Is A Measure Of Space, Just As A Range-finder Is A Measure Of Space, But Measuring Locks Us Into The Place We Measure.

If Enough Of Us Believe, A New Thing Can Be Made To Exist. Belief Structure Creates A Filter Through Which Chaos Is Sifted Into Order.

Believe

Order

Filters

Demagogues Are So Easy To Identify. They Gesture A Lot And Speak With Pulpit Rhythms, Using Words That Ring Of Religious Fervour And God-fearing Sincerity. Sincerity With Nothing Behind It Takes So Much Practice. The Practice Can Always Be Detected. Repetition. Great Attempts To Keep Your Attention On Words.

Religious

Practice

Attention

The Future Remains Uncertain And So It Should, For It Is The Canvas Upon Which We Paint Our Desires. Thus Always The Human Condition Faces A Beautifully Empty Canvas. We Possess Only This Moment In Which To Dedicate Ourselves Continuously To The Sacred Presence Which We Share And Create.

Future

Journey

Desire

Jessica Stopped Beside Him, Said: 'what Delicious Abandon In The Sleep Of A Child.' He Spoke Mechanically: 'if Only Adults Could Relax Like That.' 'yes.' 'where Do We Lose It?' He Murmured. 'we Do, Indeed, Lose Something,' She Said.

Children

Sleep

Relax

There's An Unwritten Compact Between You And The Reader. If Someone Enters A Bookstore And Sets Down Hard Earned Money (energy) For Your Book, You Owe That Person Some Entertainment And As Much More As You Can Give.

Book

Giving

Entertainment

Enemies Make You Stronger, Allies Make You Weaker.

Enemy

Stronger

Allies

The Concept Of Progress Acts As A Protective Mechanism To Shield Us From The Terrors Of The Future.

Progress

Shields

Utopia

The Proximity Of A Desirable Thing Tempts One To Overindulgence. On That Path Lies Danger.

Lying

Path

Danger

The Unclouded Eye Was Better, No Matter What It Saw.

Eye

Saws

Matter

A Person Needs New Experiences. They Jar Something Deep Inside, Allowing You To Grow. Without Them, It Sleeps- Seldom To Awaken. The Sleeper Must Awaken.

The Best Contribution One Can Make To Humanity Is To Improve Oneself.

Humanity

Contribution

Oneself

A Storm Is Coming; Our Storm. Emperor - We Come For You!

Fear

Atheism

Storm

Bless The Maker And His Water. Bless The Coming And Going Of Him. May His Passage Cleanse The World. May He Keep The World For His People.

People

Water

World

Chance Is The Nature Of Our Universe. [...] Madness Represents A Chaotic Reservoir Of Surprises. Some Surprises Can Be Valuable.

Chance

Madness

Surprise

What You Cannot Control, You Must Accept.

Accepting

I Am Like A Person Whose Hands Were Kept Numb, Without Sensation From The First Moment Of Awareness - Until One Day The Ability To Feel Is Forced Into Them. And I Say "look! I Have No Hands!" But The People All Around Me Say: "what Are Hands?

Hands

People

One Day

Often I Must Speak Otherwise Than I Think. This Is Called Diplomacy.

Thinking

Speak

Diplomacy

Ask What Infinity Might Produce And The Only Answer Possible Was, "anything." Any Good, Any Evil; Any God, Any Devil.

Evil

Answers

Might

Grief Is The Price Of Victory.

Grief

Victory

Aging

Fear Is The Penalty Of Consciousness Forced To Stare At Itself.

Consciousness

Penalties

Staring

Give Me The Judgment Of Balanced Minds In Preference To Laws Every Time. Codes And Manuals Create Patterned Behavior. All Patterned Behavior Tends To Go Unquestioned, Gathering Destructive Momentum.

Law

Giving

Mind

Experts And Specialists Lead You Quickly Into Chaos. They Are A Source Of Useless Nit-picking, The Ferocious Quibble Over A Comma.

Experts

Useless

Chaos

Any Road Followed Precisely To Its End Leads Precisely Nowhere.

Ends

Empires Do Not Suffer Emptiness Of Purpose At The Time Of Their Creation. It Is When They Have Become Established That Aims Are Lost And Replaced By Vague Ritual.

Suffering

Purpose

Empires

Thou Shalt Not Make A Machine In The Likeness Of A Human Mind.

Mind

Machines

Humans

Intelligence Takes Chances With Limited Data In An Arena Where Mistakes Are Not Only Possible But Also Necessary.

Mistake

Data

Entrepreneur

The Convoluted Wording Of Legalisms Grew Up Around The Necessity To Hide From Ourselves The Violence We Intend Toward Each Other. Between Depriving A Man Of One Hour From His Life And Depriving Him Of His Life There Exists Only A Difference Of Degree. You Have Done Violence To Him, Consumed His Energy.

Men

Differences

Violence

Governments Can Be Useful To The Governed Only So Long As Inherent Tendencies Toward Tyranny Are Restrained.

Government

Long

Tendencies

Proper Teaching Is Recognized With Ease. You Can Know It Without Fail Because It Awakens Within You That Sensation Which Tells You This Is Something You Have Always Known.

Teaching

Ease

Failing

One Must Cast Off Old Agonies As A Snake Casts Off Its Skin--only To Grow A New Set And Accept All Of Their Limitations.

Snakes

Agony

Skins

The Night Is A Tunnel ... A Hole Into Tomorrow.

Night

Tunnels

Tomorrow

To See Eternity Was To Be Exposed To Eternity's Whims, Oppressed By Endless Dimensions.

Dimensions

Eternity

Endless

The Clear And Safe Path Leads Evermore Into Stagnation

Safe

Path

Clear

If All Those Around You Believe Some Particular Thing, You Will Soon Be Tempted To Share In That Belief.

Believe

Belief

Question: Who Governs The Governors? Answer: Entropy

Answers

Thrive

Entropy

These Are Illusions Of Popular History Which Successful Religion Must Promote: Evil Men Never Prosper; Only The Brave Deserve The Fair; Honesty Is The Best Policy; Actions Speak Louder Than Words; Virtue Always Triumpths; A Good Deed Is Its Own Rewards; Any Bad Human Can Be Reformed; Religious Talismans Protect One From Demon Possession; Only Females Understand The Ancient Mysteries; The Rich Are Doomed To Unhappiness

Religious

Honesty

Successful

One Of The Best Things To Come Out Of The Home Computer Revolution Could Be The General And Widespread Understanding Of How Severely Limited Logic Really Is.

Home

Understanding

Revolution

The Problem Of Leadership Is Inevitably: Who Will Play God?" Muad'dib

Play

Problem

Infinity? It Attracts Us Like A Floodlight In The Night.

Night

Infinity

To Know The Future Absolutely It To Be Trapped Into That Future Absolutely. It Collapses Time. Present Becomes Future.

Collapse

Knows

Trapped

Beware Of The Truth, Gentle Sister. Although Much Sought After, Truth Can Be Dangerous To The Seeker. Myths And Reassuring Lies Are Much Easier To Find And Believe. If You Find A Truth, Even A Temporary One, It Can Demand That You Make Painful Changes. Conceal Your Truths Within Words. Natural Ambiguity Will Protect You Then.

Lying

Believe

Demand

They Say They Seek Security And Quiet, The Condition They Call Peace. Even As They Speak They Create The Seeds Of Turmoil And Violence.

Violence

Quiet

Speak

The Convoluted Wording Of Legalisms Grew Up Around The Necessity To Hide From Ourselves The Violence We Do To Each Other.

Law

Violence

Grew Up

Fear Is The Mind-killer. Fear Is The Little-death That Brings Total Obliteration.

Fear

Fantasy Novels

Scary

The Best Prophets Lead You Up To The Curtain And Let You Peer Through For Yourself.

Peers

Prophet

Curtains

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.

Technology

People

Risk

Try Looking Into That Place Where You Dare Not Look! You'll Find Me There, Staring Out At You!

Fear

Trying

Looks

What Are You, Child, That You Need Time To Learn About Yourself?

Children

Needs

About Yourself

You Know It's Love When You Want To Give Joy And Damn The Consequences.

Funny Love

Giving

Joy

The Gravest Error A Thinking Person Can Make Is To Believe That One Particular Version Of History Is Absolute Fact. History Is Recorded By A Series Of Observers, None Of Whom Is Impartial. The Facts Are Distorted By Sheer Passage Of Time And Thousands Of Years Of Humanity's Dark Ages, Deliberate Misrepresentations By Religious Sects, And The Inevitable Corruption That Comes From An Accumulation Of Careless Mistakes. The Wise Person, Then, Views History As A Set Of Lessons To Be Learned, Choices And Ramifications To Be Considered And Discussed, And Mistakes That Should Never Again Be Made.

Wise

Religious

Mistake

The Ultimate Test ... To See The Good In Evil And The Evil In Good.

Evil

Tests

Ultimate

There Should Be A Science Of Discontent. People Need Hard Times And Oppression To Develop Psychic Muscles.

Hard Times

Psychics

People

The Difference Between Sentiment And Being Sentimental Is The Following: Sentiment Is When A Driver Swerves Out Of The Way To Avoid Hitting A Rabbit On The Road. Being Sentimental Is When The Same Driver, When Swerving Away From The Rabbit, Hits A Pedestrian.

Differences

Rabbits

Hitting

A Leader, You See, Is One Of The Things That Distinguishes A Mob From A People.

Leadership

People

Leader

Democracy Is Susceptible To Being Led Astray By Having Scapegoats Paraded In Front Of The Electorate.

Democracy

Scapegoat

Electorate

Anything Less Than Abject Submission Has To Have Some Attack In It.

Submission

Police Are Inevitably Corrupted. ... Police Always Observe That Criminals Prosper. It Takes A Pretty Dull Policeman To Miss The Fact That The Position Of Authority Is The Most Prosperous Criminal Position Available.

Missing

Police

Criminals

All Governments Suffer A Recurring Problem: Power Attracts Pathological Personalities.

War

Government

Personality

Learning A Language Represents Training In The Delusions Of That Language.

Training

Language

Delusion

Unused Power Was Like A Marionette With Visible Strings, Nobody Holding Them. A Compelling Attraction: I Could Make It Dance.

Strings

Compelling

Visible

Guilt Starts As A Feeling Of Failure.

Feelings

Guilt

Thrive

To Come Under Siege Was The Inevitable Fate Of Power.

Fate

Power

Siege

I Hear The Wind Blowing Across The Desert And I See The Moons Of A Winter Night Rising Like Great Ships In The Void. To Them I Make My Vow: I Will Be Resolute And Make An Art Of Government; I Will Balance My Inherited Past And Become A Perfect Storehouse Of My Relic Memories. And I Will Be Known For Kindliness More Than For Knowledge. My Face Will Shine Down The Corridors Of Time For As Long As Humans Exist.

Art

Memories

Winter

When He Wanted, He Could Radiate Charm And Sincerity, But I Often Wonder In These Later Days If Anything About Him Was As It Seemed. I Think Now He Was A Man Fighting Constantly To Escape The Bars Of An Invisible Cage.

Fighting

Men

Thinking

The Most Terrifying Things In The Universe Came From Human Minds.

Mind

Humans

Human Mind

No More Terrible Disaster Could Befall Your People Than For Them To Fall Into The Hands Of A Hero.

Fall

Hero

Hands

Absolute Prediction Is Completion . . . Is Death!

Predictions

Absolutes

Completion

Producing Perfection From Imperfection Is, After All, The Highest Of Art Forms.

Art

Perfection

Form

The Vision Of Time Is Broad, But When You Pass Through It, Time Becomes A Narrow Door.

Time

Doors

Vision

Governments, If They Endure, Always Tend Increasingly Toward Aristocratic Forms. No Government In History Has Been Known To Evade This Pattern. And As The Aristocracy Develops, Government Tends More And More To Act Exclusively In The Interests Of The Ruling Class -- Whether That Class Be Hereditary Royalty, Oligarchs Of Financial Empires, Or Entrenched Bureaucracy.

Government

Class

Aristocracy

I Must Not Fear. Fear Is The Mind-killer. Fear Is The Little-death That Brings Total Obliteration. I Will Face My Fear. I Will Permit It To Pass Over Me And Through Me. And When It Has Gone Past I Will Turn The Inner Eye To See Its Path. Where The Fear Has Gone There Will Be Nothing. Only I Will Remain.

Inspirational

Motivational

Death

Providence And Manifest Destiny Are Synonyms Often Invoked To Support Arguments Based On Wishful Thinking.

Destiny

Thinking

Support

Law Of The Minimum: "the Worst Potential Competition For Any Organism Can Come From Its Own Kind. The Species Consumes Necessities. Growth Is Limited By That Necessity Which Is Present In The Least Amount. The Least Favourable Condition Controls The Rate Of Growth."

Law

Competition

Growth

Words Can Carry Any Burden We Wish. All That's Required Is Agreement And A Tradition Upon Which To Build.

Agreement

Wish

Tradition

The Stakes In Conflict Do Not Change. Battle Determines Who Will Control The Wealth Or Its Equivalent.

Battle

Conflict

Wealth

Polish Comes From The Cities; Wisdom From The Desert.

Cities

Desert

Polish

Good Governance Never Depends Upon Laws, But Upon The Personal Qualities Of Those Who Govern. The Machinery Of Government Is Always Subordinate To The Will Of Those Who Administer That Machinery. The Most Important Element Of Government, Therefore, Is The Method Of Choosing Leaders.

Government

Law

Personal Qualities

Peace For Any Prolonged Period Of Time Is Impossible. Humans Have A Natural Thirst For Chaos And War Is The Most Readily Available Form Of Chaos.

Peace

War

Impossible

A Man Is A Fool Not To Put Everything He Has, At Any Given Moment, Into What He Is Creating.

Creativity

Men

Creating

We Never Get Far From Wealth And All Of Its Masks When We Deal With Power.

Power

Wealth

Mask

Most Civilisation Is Based On Cowardice. It's So Easy To Civilize By Teaching Cowardice. You Water Down The Standards Which Would Lead To Bravery. You Restrain The Will. You Regulate The Appetites. You Fence In The Horizons. You Make A Law For Every Movement. You Deny The Existence Of Chaos. You Teach Even The Children To Breathe Slowly. You Tame.

Children

Teaching

Law

War Is Behavior With Roots In The Single Cell Of The Primeval Seas. Eat Whatever You Touch Or It Will Eat You.

War

Cells

Sea

Why Is It That Foolishness Repeats Itself With Such Monotonous Precision?

Precision

Repeats

Monotonous

Once Men Turned Their Thinking Over To Machines In The Hope That This Would Set Them Free. But That Only Permitted Other Men With Machines To Enslave Them.

Men

Thinking

Machines

Religions Often Partake Of The Myth Of Progress That Shields Us From The Terrors Of An Uncertain Future.

Religion

Progress

Statistics

Love Is A Very Ancient Force, Which Served Its Purpose In Its Day But No Longer Is Essential For The Survival Of The Species.

Love

Survival

Essentials

What I'm Saying In My Books Boils Down To This: Mine Religion For What Is Good And Avoid What Is Deleterious. Don't Condemn People Who Need It. Be Very Careful When That Need Becomes Fanatical.

Book

People

Needs

Control The Coinage And The Courts — Let The Rabble Have The Rest.

Court

There's A Lesson In Every Temptation.

Temptation

Lessons

A Process Cannot Be Understood By Stopping It. Understanding Must Move With The Flow Of The Process, Must Join It And Flow With It.

Inspirational

Business

Moving

Paired Opposites Define Your Longings And Those Longings Imprison You.

Opposites

Longing

Madness In Method, That's Genius

Genius

Madness

Method

It Is A Wise Man That Does Know The Contented Man Is Never Poor, Whilst The Discontented Man Is Never Rich.

Wise

Men

Doe

No Matter How Much We Ask After The Truth, Self-awareness Is Often Unpleasant. We Do Not Feel Kindly Toward The Truthsayer.

Truth

Self

Matter

Confine Yourself To Observing And You Always Miss The Point Of Your Own Life.

Missing

Observing

There Are Problems In This Universe For Which There Are No Answers. Nothing. Nothing Can Be Done.

Done

Answers

Problem

A Stone Is Heavy And The Sand Is Weighty; But A Fool's Wrath Is Heavier Than Them Both.

Wrath

Stones

Fool

We Are Generalists. You Can't Draw Neat Lines Around Planet-wide Problems. Planetology Is A Cut-and-fit Science.

Cutting

Lines

Problem

Greatness Is A Transitory Experience. It Is Never Consistent. It Depends In Part Upon The Myth-making Imagination Of Humankind. The Person Who Experiences Greatness Must Have A Feeling For The Myth He Or She Is In. That Person Must Reflect What Is Projected Upon Him Or Her.

Greatness

Imagination

Feelings

The Meeting Between Ignorance And Knowledge, Between Brutality And Culture - It Begins In The Dignity With Which We Treat The Dead

Ignorance

Brutality

Culture

That Is One Of The Law's Purposes, Of Course: To Test The Qualities Of Those Who Choose To Employ It.

Law

Quality

Purpose

The Fremen Were Supreme In That Quality The Ancients Called "spannungsbogen" -- Which Is The Self-imposed Delay Between Desire For A Thing And The Act Of Reaching Out To Grasp That Thing.

Self

Desire

Quality

Hope Clouds Observation.

Hope

Ambition

Clouds

A Good Companion Is One You Wouldn't Mind Dying With.

Mind

Dying

Companion

Balance Is What Distinguishs A People From A Mob.

People

Balance

When You Think To Take Determination Of Your Fate Into Your Own Hands, That Is The Moment You Can Be Crushed. Be Cautious.

Determination

Fate

Thinking

Since Every Individual Is Accountable Ultimately To The Self, The Formation Of That Self Demands Our Utmost Care And Attention.

Self

Attention

Demand

Argument Closes Off The Doors Of The Senses. It Always Masks Violence. Continued Too Long, Argument Always Leads To Violence.

Doors

Long

Violence

There Has Never Been A Truly Selfless Rebel, Just Hypocrites—conscious Hypocrites Or Unconscious Hypocrites, It’s All The Same.

Hypocrite

Rebel

Selfless

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.

Writing

Attention

Ifs

Those Who Would Repeat The Past Must Control The Teaching Of History.

Teaching

Past

History

The Beginning Of Knowledge Is The Discovery Of Something We Do Not Understand.

Knowledge

Caring

Discovery

Truth Suffers From Too Much Analysis.

Wisdom

Suffering

Analysis

Blood Is Thicker Than Water, But Politics Are Thicker Than Blood.

Blood

Water

Politics

Prophecy And Prescience - How Can They Be Put To The Test In The Face Of Unanswered Questions? Consider: How Much Is Actual Prediction And How Much Is The Prophet Shaping The Future To Fit The Prophecy? What Are The Harmonics Inherent In The Act Of Prophecy? Does The Prophet See The Future Or Does He See A Line Of Weakness, A Fault Or Cleavage That He May Shatter With Words Or Decisions As A Diamond-cutter Shatters His Gem With A Blow Of The Knife?

Blow

Knives

Decision

Every Civilization Must Contend With An Unconscious Force Which Can Block, Betray, Or Countermand Almost Any Conscious Intention Of The Collectivity.

Wise

Wisdom

Block

The Ferocity We Show Our Foes Must Be Tempered By The Lesson We Hope To Teach.

Lessons

Teach

Shows

A Man's Flesh Is His Own; The Water Belongs To The Tribe.

Men

Water

Flesh

What Do You Despise? By This Are You Truly Known.

Hate

Princess

Hatred

Parting With Friends Is A Sadness. A Place Is Only A Place.

Sadness

Parting

When Law And Duty Are One, United By Religion, You Never Become Fully Conscious, Fully Aware Of Yourself. You Are Always A Little Less Than An Individual.

Law

Littles

Individual

Prophets Have A Way Of Dying By Violence.

Dying

Way

Violence

Every Civilization Depends On The Quality Of The Individuals It Produces. If You Over-organize Humans, Over-legalize Them, Suppress Their Urge To Greatness-they Cannot Work And Their Civilization Collapses.

Greatness

Civilization

Quality

The Function Of Science Fiction Is Not Always To Predict The Future But Sometimes To Prevent It.

Science

Fiction

Sometimes

I Am Not The River I Am The Net.

Wisdom

Rivers

What Does A Mirror Look At?

Mirrors

Doe

Looks

Ready Comprehension Is Often A Knee-jerk Response And The Most Dangerous Form Of Understanding. It Blinks An Opaque Screen Over Your Ability To Learn. The Judgmental Precedents Of Law Function That Way, Littering Your Path With Dead Ends. Be Warned. Understand Nothing. All Comprehension Is Temporary.

Law

Understanding

Over You

Belief Can Be Manipulated. Only Knowledge Is Dangerous.

Belief

Dangerous

Knowledge Is Dangerous

If You Live In Bad Faith, Lies Will Appear To You Like The Truth.

Lying

Ifs

Enemies Strengthn You. Allies Weaken You.

Enemy

Allies

If You Want Immortality, Then Deny Form. Whatever Has Form Has Mortality. Beyond Form Is The Formless, The Immortal.

Want

Immortality

Deny

Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.

2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.

2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.

2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.

3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.

3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.

3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.

4. Proper Usage of Quotes

4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.

4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.

4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.

5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.

5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.

6. Quotes in Different Contexts

6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.

6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.

6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.

7. Punctuation and Formatting

Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:

Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.

Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.

Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.

8. Ethical Considerations

Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes

Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.

Conclusion

Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.

Trending Author