Thufir Hawat

"The highest function of consciousness is to perceive, to become aware"

"Survival is the ability to adapt"

"In any group of humans, the authority to act is a fundamental necessity"

"Never trust a powerful ally"

"The real enemy is not seen but felt"

"Knowing where the trap is—that's the first step in evading it."

"The young man must learn the old ways, yet embrace the new."

"The greatest threat comes from within."

"The ability to learn is the most important survival skill."

"The price of survival is eternal vigilance."

"Politics is the art of appearing candid and open while concealing as much as possible."

"Religion often contains the wisdom of the ancients."

"Knowledge and power are joined."

"The ornithopter cannot fly like a bird; it must fly like a machine."

"In politics the choice is always thus: to change nothing and lose everything, or to change everything and lose something."

"Knowledge is the weapon that never rusts."

"When you can flatten the entire reason for friends, it means you can do without the friends."

"A man is known by the company he keeps."

"A man exists to serve his needs, not the reverse."

"A plan is only as good as the first moment it fails."

"Violence is a tool of the ignorant."

"Think you of the fact that a deaf person cannot hear."

"The approved man is the safe man."

"The test of strength is not combat."

"To defeat an enemy, you must understand him."

"The ornithopter must rise above the storms."