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But oh, the perils of leadership in a species so anxious to be told what to do. How little they knew of what they created by their demands. Leaders ma...more

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I must rule with eye and claw — as the hawk among lesser birds. - Duke Leto Atreides

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Any man who retreats into a cave which has only one opening deserves to die.

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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 su...more

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Greatness is a transitory experience. It is never consistent. It depends in part on the myth-making imagination of humankind. The person who experienc...more

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Delay is as dangerous as the wrong answer.

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My son will wear the title well, the Duke thought, and realized with a sudden chill that this was another death thought.

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There are proven ways to win the loyalty of tough, strong, ferocious men: play on the certain knowledge of their superiority, the mystique of secret c...more

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It doesn't follow that the riots mean permanent hostility toward him.

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He uses the nice old words so rich in tradition to be sure I know he means it.

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You have a nicety of awareness of the difference between a blade's edge and its tip.

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A ruler must learn to persuade and not to compel... he must lay the best coffee hearth to attract the finest men... a good ruler has to learn his worl...more

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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 their ow...more

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Governments always commit their entire populations when the demands grow heavy enough. By their passive acceptance, these populations become accessori...more