"There is probably no more terrible instant of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man--with human flesh."
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.
There should be a science of discontent. People need hard times and oppression to develop psychic muscles.
Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife--chopping off what's incomplete and saying: "Now, it's complete because it's ended here."
The concept of progress acts as a protective mechanism to shield us from the terrors of the future.