Frank Herbert Quotes

“A man is a fool not to put everything he has, at any given moment, into what he is creating. You're there now doing the thing on paper. You're not killing the goose, you're just producing an egg. So I don't worry about inspiration, or anything like that. It's a matter of just sitting down and working. I have never had the problem of a writing block. I've heard about it. I've felt reluctant to write on some days, for whole weeks, or sometimes even longer. I'd much rather go fishing, for example, or go sharpen pencils, or go swimming, or what not. But, later, coming back and reading what I have produced, I am unable to detect the difference between what came easily and when I had to sit down and say, 'Well, now it's writing time and now I'll write.' There's no difference on paper between the two.”

“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.”

“Gold opens all locks, no lock will hold against the power of gold.”

“Guilt starts as a feeling of failure.”

“Ideas are a dime a dozen. It's execution that counts.”

“If I'd been born in my grandfather's time, I'd have made my grandfather's mistakes. Theres no doubt of it. I just don't want to make my grandfather's mistakes today.”

“Never attempt to reason with people who know they are right!”

“Respect for the truth comes close to being the basis for all morality.”

“Technology is both a tool for helping humans and for destroying them. This is the paradox of our times which we're compelled to face.”

“The best contribution one can make to humanity is to improve oneself.”

“The mistakes of leaders are amplified by the numbers who follow them without question. Charismatic leaders tend to build up followings, power structures and these power structures tend to be taken over by people who are corruptible. I don't think that the old saw about 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely' is accurate: I think power attracts the corruptible.”

“The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action in mind.”

“The proximity of a desirable thing tempts one to overindulgence. On that path lies danger.”

“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.”

“Think you of the fact that a deaf person cannot hear. Then, what deafness may we not all possess? What senses do we lack that we cannot see and cannot hear another world all around us?”

“To endure oneself may be the hardest task in the universe.”

“What do you despise? By this are you truly known.”

“You know it's love when you want to give joy and damn the consequences.”

“Education is no substitute for intelligence.”

“Nature does not make mistakes. Right and wrong are human categories.”

“The function of science fiction is not always to predict the future but sometimes to prevent it.”

“All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible.”

“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.”

“Do actions agree with words? There's your measure of reliability. Never confine yourself to the words.”

“Each life creates endless ripples.”

“Face your fears or they will climb over your back.”

“Politics: the art of appearing candid and completely open while concealing as much as possible.”

“Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.”

“Show me a completely smooth operation and I'll show you someone who's covering mistakes. Real boats rock.”

“Silence is often the best thing to say.”