It was mostly sweet," he whispered, "and you were the sweetest of all.

One uses power by grasping it lightly. To grasp too strongly is to be taken over by power, and thus to become its victim.

The scarce water of Dune is an exact analog of oil scarcity. CHOAM is OPEC.

Memory never recaptures reality. Memory reconstructs. All reconstructions change the original, becoming external frames of reference that inevitably fall short.

Any man who retreats into a cave which has only one opening deserves to die.

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.

Life cannot find reasons to sustain it, cannot be a source of decent natural regard, unless each of us resolves to breathe such qualities into it.