Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Frank Patrick Herbert, Jr.was an American science fiction writer best known for the novel Dune and its five sequels. Though he became famous for science fiction, he was also a newspaper journalist, photographer, short story writer, book reviewer, ecological consultant and lecturer...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth8 October 1920
CityTacoma, WA
CountryUnited States of America
evil might infinity
Ask what Infinity might produce and the only answer possible was, "Anything." Any good, any evil; any god, any devil.
adventure errors atheism
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.
law understanding over-you
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.
initiative
Beaurocracy destroys initiative.
pain humans human-beings
A human being can stand any amount of pain.
blood water politics
Blood is thicker than water, but politics are thicker than blood.
powerful government judging
There exists a limit to the force even the most powerful may apply without destroying themselves. Judging this limit is the true artistry of government. Misuse of power is the fatal sin.
people useless vote
People don't vote. Instinct tells them it's useless.
ignorant intellectual trying
Many things we do naturally become difficult only when we try to make them intellectual subjects. It is possible to know so much about a subject that you become totally ignorant.
law competition growth
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."
mind humans human-mind
The most terrifying things in the universe came from human minds.
believe opportunity justice
I now believe that evolution, or deevolution, never ends short of death, that no society has ever achieved an absolute pinnacle, that all humans are not created equal. In fact, I believe attempts to create some abstract equalization create a morass of injustices that rebound on the equalizers. Equal justice and equal opportunity are ideals we should seek, but we should recognize that humans administer the ideals and that humans do not have equal ability.
surroundings companion
Most of us choose our companions and surroundings to reflect ourselves.
people too-much chaos
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.