“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“What do you despise? By this are you truly known.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“It is so shocking to find out how many people do not believe that they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“The mind can go either direction under stress—toward positive or toward negative: on or off. Think of it as a spectrum whose extremes are unconsciousness at the negative end and hyperconsciousness at the positive end. The way the mind will lean under stress is strongly influenced by training.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“He who controls the spice controls the universe.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Whether a thought is spoken or not it is a real thing and it has power," Tuek said. "You might find the line between life and death among the Fremen to be too sharp and quick.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“The mind commands the body and it obeys. The mind orders itself and meets resistance.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Try looking into that place where you dare not look! You'll find me there, staring out at you!”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“It is impossible to live in the past, difficult to live in the present and a waste to live in the future.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Greatness is a transitory experience. It is never consistent. It depends in part upon the myth-making imagination of humankind. The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in. He must reflect what is projected upon him. And he must have a strong sense of the sardonic. This is what uncouples him from belief in his own pretensions. The sardonic is all that permits him to move within himself. Without this quality, even occasional greatness will destroy a man.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“The people who can destroy a thing, they control it.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Survival is the ability to swim in strange water.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“What has mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises—no matter the mood! Mood's a thing for cattle or making love or playing the baliset. It's not for fighting.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“The Fremen were supreme in that quality the ancients called "spannungsbogen" -- which is the self-imposed delay between desire for a thing and the act of reaching out to grasp that thing.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Grave this on your memory, lad: A world is supported by four things..." she held up four big-knuckled fingers. "...the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous and the valor of the brave. But all of these things are as nothing..." She closed her fingers into a fist. "...without a ruler who knows the art of ruling. Make that the science of your tradition!”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife - chopping off what's incomplete and saying: 'Now, it's complete because it's ended here.'
- from "Collected Sayings of Maud'Dib'' by the Princess Irulan”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Highly organized research is guaranteed to produce nothing new.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Proper teaching is recognized with ease. You can know it without fail because it awakens within you that sensation which tells you this is something you have always known.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“The willow submits to the wind and prospers until one day it is many willows - a wall against the wind.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere. Climb the mountain just a little bit to test that it's a mountain. From the top of the mountain, you cannot see the mountain.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“There should be a science of discontent. People need hard times to develop psychic muscles. -- Muad'Dib”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“My father once told me that respect for truth comes close to being the basis for all morality. 'Something cannot emerge from nothing,' he said. This is profound thinking if you understand how unstable 'the truth' can be.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Give as few orders as possible," his father had told him once long ago. "Once you've given orders on a subject, you must always give orders on that subject.”
― Frank Herbert, quote from Dune
“Well,' I said. 'I could strip off my clothes and reveal to you that under my jeans and sweatshirt I'm actually wearing a tank top and short-shorts, much like Lara Croft from Tomb Raider...only mine are flame-retardant and covered in glow-in-the-dark dinosaur stickers.'
No one stirred. Not even Christopher, who actually has a thing for Lara Croft.
'I know what you're thinking,' I went on. 'Glow-in-the-dark dinosaur stickers are so last year. But I think they add a certain je ne sais quoi to the whole ensemble. It's true, short-shorts are uncomfortable under jeans and hard to get off in the ladies' room, but they make the twin thigh-holsters in which I hold my high-caliber pistols so easy to get to....'
The oven timer dinged.
'Thank you, Em,' Mr. Greer said, yawning. 'That was very persuasive.”
― Meg Cabot, quote from Airhead
“Anyone who meets you and doesn't want to get to know you and be part of your life is stupid. I saw it when I was just a kid."
"No. You thought I was a vampire and you wanted to be my friend so I wouldn't eat you."
"Well, that too. But I found out soon enough you weren't a blood sucker and I still licked you.”
― Abbi Glines, quote from Twisted Perfection
“Friends come and go like waiters in a restaurant, did you ever notice that? [...] Some people drown, that’s all. It’s not fair, but it happens”
― Stephen King, quote from The Body
“No matter how close, you are always too far
My eyes are drawn everywhere you are.
I’m tired of the way we both pretend Tired of always wanting and never giving in
I can feel it in my skin, see it in your grin
We’re more. We always have been.
Think of everything we’ve missed.
Every touch and every kiss.
Because we both insist.
Resist.
Hold your breath and close your eyes Distract yourself with other guys
It’s no surprise, your defeated sighs
Aren’t you tired of the lies?
Think of everything we’ve missed.
Every touch and every kiss.
Because we both insist.
Resist.
No matter how close, you are always too far
My eyes are drawn everywhere you are.
I’m done. I won’t ignore. I won’t pretend or resist.
I want more.”
― Cora Carmack, quote from Losing It
“Сега лежах съвсем изоставен в тази глупава ръждивочервеникава вана, стените на банята бяха облицовани с черни плочки, но ваната, сапуниерката, кранът на душа и дъската на тоалетната чиния бяха ръждивочервени. Липсваше ми гласът на Мари. Докато мислех за нея, изпитах чувството, че тя не може да чете на Цюпфнер дори и библията, без да се чувства предателка и развратница. Тя трябваше да си спомни за хотела в Дюселдорф, където ми беше чела за Соломон и Савската царица, докато заспах преуморен във ваната. Зелените килими в хотелската стая, тъмните коси на Мари, гласът ѝ, после тя ми донесе запалена цигара и аз я целунах.
Лежах покрит до шия със сапунени пяна и мислех за Мари. Тя не можеше да върши нищо с него или при него, без да си спомня за мене. В негово присъствие не можеше да завърти дори капачето на пастата за зъби. Колко често ние двамата бяхме закусвали заедно, бедно или разкошно, набързо или спокойно, прекалено рано призори или късно сутринта, с много мармалад или без никакъв мармалад. Самата представа, че тя закусваше с Цюпфнер всяка сутрин по едно и също време, а след това той тръгваше с колата си за своята католическа канцелария, ме докара почти до молитвено настроение. Молех се никога да не се стига до закуска с Цюпфнер.”
― Heinrich Böll, quote from The Clown
BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.
Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.