Dune

Book · 8 characters · 818 quotes · 1965

Quotes from Dune

G
"We shape our own reality through choice"
Gaius Helen Mohiam Freedom
P
"The future is a thing of infinite complexity"
Paul Atreides Time
T
"A great man doesn't seek power; power seeks him"
Thufir Hawat Leadership
L
"Spice is life itself on Arrakis"
Liet-Kynes Life
S
"The desert teaches patience to those who listen"
Stilgar Patience
P
"I am the son of a Duke—this is my sword"
Paul Atreides Strength
B
"Madness is relative"
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen Philosophy
P
"The sleeper wakes to a desert of his own making"
Paul Atreides Dreams
S
"To endure is to change, and not to change is to cease to exist"
Spice-induced narrator/Paul's visions Change
S
"What is money if it cannot buy what you need?"
Stilgar Money
S
"The design of a thing revels the thing itself"
Spice-induced narrator/Paul's visions Knowledge
T
"A person is smart. People are dumb"
Thufir Hawat Wisdom
P
"There is no escape—we pay for the violence of our ancestors"
Paul Atreides History
G
"You have more potential in your little finger than most men have in their entire bodies"
Gaius Helen Mohiam Strength
S
"The sleeper must awaken because the universe demands it"
Spice-induced narrator/Paul's visions Motivation
B
"Let us say I have this itch—it moves around, but when I scratch where it itches, I find nothing there"
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen Power
L
"Arrakis is the key to the universe"
Liet-Kynes Power
S
"In the beginning, there was only the desert"
Spice-induced narrator/Paul's visions Nature
S
"The ornithopter wobbled as its sand-wings beat against the atmosphere"
Spice-induced narrator/Paul's visions Adventure
P
"To know the future absolutely is to be trapped by it as surely as in any prison"
Paul Atreides Freedom
S
"Survival is the ability to swim in strange water"
Stilgar Perseverance
T
"Political intrigue makes a safer hobby than space travel"
Thufir Hawat Politics
S
"Paul saw the trap then, the obligation to succeed"
Spice-induced narrator/Paul's visions Wisdom
G
"When you can move things with your mind, then you'll be Bene Gesserit"
Gaius Helen Mohiam Education
P
"I must not fear. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration"
Paul Atreides Courage
L
"The sleeper has awakened"
Liet-Kynes Wisdom
S
"Humans are pattern-making creatures. It is our nature to impose order on chaos"
Spice-induced narrator/Paul's visions Knowledge
G
"All teaching is a process of recruitment"
Gaius Helen Mohiam Education
T
"Politics is the business of arranging the survival of populations"
Thufir Hawat Politics
P
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time"
Paul Atreides Wisdom