War Quotes by Frank Herbert

16 War quotes by Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert’s 16 war‑themed thoughts fuse his signature world‑building with a keen eye on power, ecology, and the human drive that fuels both conquest and resistance.

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It is not that power corrupts but that power is a magnet to the corruptible.

Frank Herbert

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All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities.

Frank Herbert

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War is the most readily available form of chaos.

Frank Herbert

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Peace for any prolonged period of time is impossible. Humans have a natural thirst for chaos and war is the most readily…

Frank Herbert

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All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to…

Frank Herbert

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It is said that there is a principle of conflict which originated with the single cell and has never deteriorated.

Frank Herbert

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“Our civilization appears to’ve fallen so deeply into the habit of invasion that we cannot even obey a simple order of the…

Frank Herbert

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War is behavior with roots in the single cell of the primeval seas. Eat whatever you touch or it will eat you.

Frank Herbert

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The stakes in conflict do not change. Battle determines who will control the wealth or its equivalent.

Frank Herbert

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Does a population have informed consent when a ruling minority acts in secret to ignite a war, doing this to justify the…

Frank Herbert

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“You who have defeated us say to yourselves that Babylon is fallen and its works have been overturned. I say to you…

Frank Herbert

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“Military foolishness is ultimately suicidal. They believe that by risking death they pay the price of any violent behavior against enemies of…

Frank Herbert

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“They displayed a sophistication in warfare as good as anything he had ever encountered, and he had been trained by the best…

Frank Herbert

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“Unceasing warfare gives rise to its own social conditions which have been similar in all epochs. People enter a permanent state of…

Frank Herbert

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“Enter no conflict against fanatics unless you can defuse them. Oppose a religion with another religion only if your proofs (miracles) are…

Frank Herbert

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“Yes, but I’ve also walked about in your city and I’ve watched your people. Your people are aggressive!” “You see, Duncan? Peace…

Frank Herbert

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“He who can destroy a thing has the real control of it.”

Frank Herbert

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“A leader, you see, is one of the things that distinguishes a mob from a people. He maintains the level of individuals. Too few…

Frank Herbert

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“I will tell you this only once. Homosexuals have been among the best warriors in our history, the berserkers of last resort. They were…

Frank Herbert

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“Between depriving a man of one hour from his life and depriving him of his life there exists only a difference of degree.”

Frank Herbert

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The surest way to keep a secret is to make someone think they already know the answer.

Frank Herbert

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“how inevitable it was that the aristocrat would refuse his final duty—which was to step aside and vanish into history.”

Frank Herbert

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“What we should have done was test the gift first. We should have probed for dangers. We were too bedazzled by it, though.”

Frank Herbert

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“Have you noticed, Stil, how beautiful the young women are this year?”

Frank Herbert

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“Humans are born with a susceptibility to that most persistent and debilitating disease of intellect: self-deception. The best of all possible worlds and the…

Frank Herbert