"Prisons are needed only to provide the illusion that courts and police are effective. They're a kind of job insurance."
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Quote collection
Frank Herbert quotes (page 8 of 22)
427 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"The purpose of argument is to change the nature of truth."
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"Polish comes from the cities; wisdom from the desert."
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"Enemies make you stronger, allies make you weaker."
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"Parting with friends is a sadness. A place is only a place."
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"Guilt starts as a feeling of failure."
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"Historians exercise great power and some of them know it. They recreate the past, changing it to fit their own interpretations. Thus, they change the future as well."
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"A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it."
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"If you believe certain words, you believe their hidden arguments. When you believe something is right or wrong, true or false, you believe the assumptions in the words which express the arguments. Such assumptions are often full of holes, but remain most precious to the convinced."
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"Words themselves were the ultimate barrier to revelation."
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"To come under siege was the inevitable fate of power."
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"Something cannot emerge from nothing."
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"Love is a very ancient force, which served its purpose in its day but no longer is essential for the survival of the species."
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"There's a lesson in every temptation."
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"The difference between sentiment and being sentimental is the following: Sentiment is when a driver swerves out of the way to avoid hitting a rabbit on the road. Being sentimental is when the same driver, when swerving away from the rabbit, hits a pedestrian."
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"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."
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"Every civilization depends upon the quality of the individuals it produces."
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"If all those around you believe some particular thing, you will soon be tempted to share in that belief."
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"Remember: Bureaucracy elevates conformity ... Make that elevates 'fatal stupidity' to the status of religion."
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"A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct."
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