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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a commitment to personal growth and legacy, emphasizing kindness over mere knowledge.
In this quote, Frank Herbert expresses a deep resolve to embrace both his past and future in a meaningful way. He highlights the importance of balancing one's heritage while aspiring to be remembered for kindness and impactful governance, rather than just for intellectual accomplishments. This sentiment reflects a profound understanding of how one's actions and values can etch a lasting legacy in the fabric of time.
Themes
LegacyKindnessGovernmentGrowthMemory
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about leadership, one might quote this to stress the importance of kindness in governance.
More from Frank Herbert
All quotes βIf 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.
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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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We lie in the lap of immense intelligence.
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I was fifteen years old when I understood how it is that things break down: people can't imagine someone else's point of view.
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Don't search for heaven and hell in the future. Both are now present. Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, negotiations, we are indeed in heaven. Whenever we fight, hate, we are in hell.
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