Butlerian Jihad Quotes

Aristotle raped reason. He implanted in the dominant schools of philosophy the attractive belief that there can be discrete separation between mind and body. This led quite naturally to corollary delusions such as the one that power can be understood without applying it, or that joy is totally removable from unhappiness, that peace can exist in the total absence of war, or that life can be understood without death. —ERASMUS, Corrin Notes

Any true student must realize that History has no beginning. Regardless of where a story starts, there are always earlier heroes and earlier tragedies.

With few ambitions, most people allowed efficient machines to perform everyday tasks for them. Gradually, humans ceased to think, or dream... or truly live.

A winner has more skills than a loser," Vor said, "no matter how you define the competition.

Then came the Butlerian Jihad—two generations of chaos. The god of machine-logic was overthrown among the masses and a new concept was raised: “Man may not be replaced.” Those

Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a man’s mind,’” Paul quoted. “Right out of the Butlerian Jihad and the Orange Catholic Bible,” she said. “But what the O.C. Bible should’ve said is: ‘Thou shalt not make a machine to counterfeit a human mind.’ Have you studied the Mentat in your service?

Each of us influences the actions of the people we know. —XAVIER HARKONNEN,

But the Butlerians turn fear into violence and panic into a weapon. By creating imaginary problems and raising the specter of nonexistent enemies, they transform common people into a wild herd that destroys everything they do not understand.

Your outrageous and reckless chaos is the only reason you are able to beat me in any strategy game,” Seurat said. “It certainly has nothing to do with your innate skills.

Music should make the spirit soar, take the breath away, touch the soul. Your work was just…pleasant tones, adequately performed.

Only those with narrow minds fail to see that the definition of Impossible is ‘Lack of imagination and incentive.’ —SERENA BUTLER

The tapestry of the universe is vast and complex, with infinite patterns. While threads of tragedy may form the primary weave, humanity with its undaunted optimism still manages to embroider small designs of happiness and love.

Some lives are taken, while others are freely given. —ZUFA CENVA, repeated eulogy speech phrase

Most histories are written by the winners of conflicts, but those written by the losers—if they survive—are often more interesting.

There is a certain hubris to science, a belief that the more we develop technology and the more we learn, the better our lives will be.

Consciousness and logic are not reliable standards. —COGITORS, Fundamental Postulate

No matter the challenge, his people knew how to endure.

Tell her nothing is impossible. Tell her that love is what separates humans from other living creatures, not hatred. Not violence—

The robot responded with surprising sarcasm. “I am aware of the various bodily orifices humans possess. Therefore, I invite you to take a power tool and insert it where the—

Fire has no form of its own, but clings to the burning object. Light clings to darkness. —Cogitor philosophy

Talk is based on the assumption that you can get somewhere if you keep putting one word after another. —IBLIS GINJO, notes in the margin of a stolen notebook

Erasmus was like Serena in a sense: he frequently needed to prune and weed the human race in his own garden.

If we give up our humanity to fight the machines, Zufa, then Omnius has already won!

The narrow mind erects stubborn barriers," her mother had once told her. "But against those barriers, words are formidable weapons.

I can envision calculations all the way to infinity,” she said, as if in a trance. “I don’t have to write them down.

Vor laughed, proud of his place here. He quoted what he’d been taught all his life. “I am the pinnacle of humanity—a trustee of Omnius, the son of General Agamemnon.

A human captive had fought the machines! She had destroyed a robot with her own hands! Amazed, they called out her name.

Human life is not negotiable. —SERENA BUTLER

Anything imagined can be made real...given sufficient genius.

Each of us influences the actions of the people we know. —XAVIER HARKONNEN, comment to his men

My father lied to me! He distorted the events, taking credit, hiding the extent of the brutality and suffering—even Omnius knew it. On the other hand, Serena had told him the truth.

Savant, doesn’t it strike you as somewhat…hypocritical that we fight to keep humans free from the domination of machines, while at the same time some of our own League Worlds use slaves?

Norma looked at him, puzzled. "Someone else to do the mathematics?" "Of course!" Holtzman brushed iron-gray hair away from his face and adjusted his white robe. "You're an *idea* person, like me. We want you to develop concepts, not bother with full-fledged implementation. You should not waste time performing tedious arithmetic. Any halfway-trained person can do that. It's what slaves are for.

The logic which is sound for a finite system is not necessarily sound for an infinite universe. Theories, like living things, do not always scale up. —ERASMUS, secret records (from the Omnius databank)

Do you know about the horrors during the Time of Titans? Or the Hrethgir Rebellions?” “I’ve read my father’s memoirs in great detail—” “I don’t mean Agamemnon’s propaganda. Have you learned the real history?

Serena grew angry. How could that representative worry about petty price tags, when the ultimate cost was so much higher? “We will all pay—in blood—if we do not do this. We must strengthen the League and the human species.

Vor stared for a moment at his own reflection in the familiar mirrored face, remembering some of the stupid jokes his friend had told and the innovative military games they had played together. Seurat had never harmed him in any way.

Even the most complex math can be broken into a sequence of trivial steps. Each of these slaves has been trained to complete specific equations in an assembly-line fashion. When taken together, this collective human mind is capable of remarkable feats." Holtzman surveyed the room as if he expected his solvers to give him a resounding cheer. Instead, they studied their work with heavy-lidded eyes, moving through equation after equation with no comprehension of reasons or larger pictures.

JIHAD, BUTLERIAN: (see also Great Revolt)-the crusade against computers, thinking machines, and conscious robots begun in 201 B.G. and concluded in 108 B.G. Its chief commandment remains in the O.C. Bible as "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.

I intend to create a new work of art, all my own. A still life, of sorts. You three will be vital parts of the process. Rejoice in your good fortune.” In the sterile environment of the laboratory, with the cold assistance of his personal robot guards, Erasmus proceeded to vivisect the trio of victims, oblivious to their screams. “I want to get to the heart of the matter,” he quipped, “the lifeblood of it.

Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.” “‘Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a man’s mind,’” Paul quoted. “Right out of the Butlerian Jihad and the Orange Catholic Bible,” she said. “But what the O.C. Bible should’ve said is: ‘Thou shalt not make a machine to counterfeit a human mind.’ Have you studied the Mentat in your service?” “I’ve studied with Thufir Hawat.” “The Great Revolt took away a crutch,” she said. “It forced human minds to develop. Schools were started to train human talents.” “Bene Gesserit schools?” She nodded. “We have two chief survivors of those ancient schools: the Bene Gesserit and the Spacing Guild. The Guild, so we think, emphasizes almost pure mathematics. Bene Gesserit performs another function.” “Politics,” he said. “Kull wahad!” the old woman said. She sent a hard glance at Jessica. “I’ve not told him, Your Reverence,” Jessica said. The Reverend Mother returned her attention to Paul. “You did that on remarkably few clues,” she said. “Politics indeed. The original Bene Gesserit school was directed by those who saw the need of a thread of continuity in human affairs. They saw there could be no such continuity without separating human stock from animal stock—for breeding purposes.

Stilgar,” Paul said, “you urgently need a sense of balance which can come only from an understanding of long-term effects. What little information we have about the old times, the pittance of data which the Butlerians left us, Korba has brought it for you. Start with the Genghis Khan.” “Genghis … Khan? Was he of the Sardaukar, m’Lord?” “Oh, long before that. He killed … perhaps four million.” “He must’ve had formidable weaponry to kill that many, Sire. Lasbeams, perhaps, or …” “He didn’t kill them himself, Stil. He killed the way I kill, by sending out his legions. There’s another emperor I want you to note in passing—a Hitler. He killed more than six million. Pretty good for those days.” “Killed … by his legions?” Stilgar asked. “Yes.” “Not very impressive statistics, m’Lord.” “Very good, Stil.” Paul glanced at the reels in Korba’s hands. Korba stood with them as though he wished he could drop them and flee. “Statistics: at a conservative estimate, I’ve killed sixty-one billion, sterilized ninety planets, completely demoralized five hundred others. I’ve wiped out the followers of forty religions which had existed since—” “Unbelievers!” Korba protested. “Unbelievers all!” “No,” Paul said. “Believers.” “No,” Paul said. “Believers.” “My Liege makes a joke,” Korba said, voice trembling. “The Jihad has brought ten thousand worlds into the shining light of—” “Into the darkness,” Paul said. “We’ll be a hundred generations recovering from Muad’Dib’s Jihad. I find it hard to imagine that anyone will ever surpass this.” A barking laugh erupted from his throat. “What amuses Muad’Dib?” Stilgar asked. “I am not amused. I merely had a sudden vision of the Emperor Hitler saying something similar. No doubt he did.

Those without a true sense of history fail to see how volatile and transient human leadership is, even on the scale of empires. When viewed from the perspective of a mere lifetime, we tend to see our governmental structures as permanent and unchangeable. This is entirely false. —FAYKAN CORRINO I, first Emperor after the Butlerian Jihad

Following two generations of chaos, when mankind finally overcame the insidious control of machines, a new concept emerged: “Man may not be replaced.” Precepts of the Butlerian Jihad

In response to the strict Butlerian taboo against machines that perform mental functions, a number of schools developed enhanced human beings to subsume most of the functions formerly performed by computers. Some of the key schools arising out of the Jihad include the Bene Gesserit with their intense mental and physical training, the Spacing Guild with the prescient ability to find a safe path through foldspace, and the Mentats, whose computerlike minds are capable of extraordinary acts of reasoning.

Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind. Chief commandment resulting from the Butlerian Jihad, found in the Orange Catholic Bible

Spacing Guild: one leg of the political tripod maintaining the Great Convention. The Guild was the second mental-physical training school (see Bene Gesserit) after the Butlerian Jihad. The Guild monopoly on space travel and transport and upon international banking is taken as the beginning point of the Imperial Calendar.

The leaders of the Butlerian Jihad did not adequately define artificial intelligence, failing to foresee all possibilities of an imaginative society. Therefore, we have substantial gray areas in which to maneuver.

The gravest error a thinking person can make is to believe that one particular version of history is absolute fact. History is recorded by a series of observers, none of whom is impartial. The facts are distorted by sheer passage of time and—especially in the case of the Butlerian Jihad—thousands of years of humanity’s dark ages, deliberate misrepresentations by religious sects, and the inevitable corruption that comes from an accumulation of careless mistakes. The wise person, then, views history as a set of lessons to be learned, choices and ramifications to be considered and discussed, and mistakes that should never again be made. —PRINCESS IRULAN, preface to the History of the Butlerian Jihad

Stilgar,” Paul said, “you urgently need a sense of balance which can come only from an understanding of long-term effects. What little information we have about the old times, the pittance of data which the Butlerians left us, Korba has brought it for you. Start with the Genghis Khan.” “Genghis … Khan? Was he of the Sardaukar, m’Lord?” “Oh, long before that. He killed … perhaps four million.” “He must’ve had formidable weaponry to kill that many, Sire. Lasbeams, perhaps, or …” “He didn’t kill them himself, Stil. He killed the way I kill, by sending out his legions. There’s another emperor I want you to note in passing—a Hitler. He killed more than six million. Pretty good for those days.” “Killed … by his legions?” Stilgar asked. “Yes.” “Not very impressive statistics, m’Lord.” “Very good, Stil.” Paul glanced at the reels in Korba’s hands. Korba stood with them as though he wished he could drop them and flee. “Statistics: at a conservative estimate, I’ve killed sixty-one billion, sterilized ninety planets, completely demoralized five hundred others. I’ve wiped out the followers of forty religions which had existed since—” “Unbelievers!” Korba protested. “Unbelievers all!” “No,” Paul said. “Believers.” “No,” Paul said. “Believers.” “My Liege makes a joke,” Korba said, voice trembling. “The Jihad has brought ten thousand worlds into the shining light of—” “Into the darkness,” Paul said. “We’ll be a hundred generations recovering from Muad’Dib’s Jihad. I find it hard to imagine that anyone will ever surpass this.” A barking laugh erupted from his throat. “What amuses Muad’Dib?” Stilgar asked. “I am not amused. I merely had a sudden vision of the Emperor Hitler saying something similar. No doubt he did.

Stilgar,” Paul said, “you urgently need a sense of balance which can come only from an understanding of long-term effects. What little information we have about the old times, the pittance of data which the Butlerians left us, Korba has brought it for you. Start with the Genghis Khan.” “Genghis … Khan? Was he of the Sardaukar, m’Lord?” “Oh, long before that. He killed … perhaps four million.” “He must’ve had formidable weaponry to kill that many, Sire. Lasbeams, perhaps, or …” “He didn’t kill them himself, Stil. He killed the way I kill, by sending out his legions. There’s another emperor I want you to note in passing—a Hitler. He killed more than six million. Pretty good for those days.” “Killed … by his legions?” Stilgar asked. “Yes.” “Not very impressive statistics, m’Lord.” “Very good, Stil.” Paul glanced at the reels in Korba’s hands. Korba stood with them as though he wished he could drop them and flee. “Statistics: at a conservative estimate, I’ve killed sixty-one billion, sterilized ninety planets, completely demoralized five hundred others. I’ve wiped out the followers of forty religions which had existed since—” “Unbelievers!” Korba protested. “Unbelievers all!” “No,” Paul said. “Believers.” “My Liege makes a joke,” Korba said, voice trembling. “The Jihad has brought ten thousand worlds into the shining light of—” “Into the darkness,” Paul said. “We’ll be a hundred generations recovering from Muad’Dib’s Jihad. I find it hard to imagine that anyone will ever surpass this.” A barking laugh erupted from his throat. “What amuses Muad’Dib?” Stilgar asked. “I am not amused. I merely had a sudden vision of the Emperor Hitler saying something similar. No doubt he did.

Butlerian Jihad, eager to destroy any machine which simulated human awareness.

Science, under the guise of benefitting humankind, is a dangerous force that often tampers with natural processes without recognizing the consequences. Under such a scenario, mass destruction is inevitable. —COGITOR RETICULUS, Millennial Observations

Greed, anger, and ignorance poison life. —COGITOR EKLO OF EARTH, Beyond the Human Mind

Most traditional governments divide people, setting them against each other to weaken the society and make it governable. —TLALOC, Weaknesses of the Empire

Thirsty men speak of water, not of women. —Zensunni Fire Poetry from Arrakis

If life is but a dream, then do we only imagine the truth? No! By following our dreams we make our own truths! —The Legend of Selim Wormrider

The far-reaching demands of religion must accord with the macro-cosmic requirements of the smallest community. —IBLIS GINJO, The Landscape of Humanity

Without recognizing it, humankind created a weapon of mass destruction—one that only became apparent after machines took over every aspect of their lives. —BARBAROSSA, Anatomy of a Rebellion

My definition of an army? Why, tame killers, of course! —GENERAL AGAMEMNON, Memoirs

Animals must move across land to survive—for water, for food, for minerals. Existence depends upon some kind of movement: you move, or the land kills you where you stand. —Imperial Ecological Survey of Arrakis, ancient records

Mother and child: An enduring, but ultimately mysterious image of humanity. —ERASMUS, Reflections on Sentient Biologicals

Patience is a weapon best wielded by one who knows his specific target. —IBLIS GINJO, Options for Total Liberation

One of the greatest problems in our universe is how to control procreation, and the energy hidden in it. You can drag humans around by this energy, making them do things they would never imagine themselves capable of. The energy—call it love, lust, or any number of terms—must have an outlet. Bottle it up and it gets very dangerous. —IBLIS GINJO, Options for Total Liberation

Precision, without understanding its inherent limitations, is useless. —COGITOR KWYNA, City of Introspection archives

Every large-scale movement—political, religious, or military—hinges upon epochal events. —PITCAIRN NARAKOBE, League Worlds Study of Conflict

We are not like Moses—we cannot call forth water from stone…not at an economical rate, anyway. —Imperial Ecological Survey of Arrakis, ancient records (researcher uncredited)

Believing in an “intelligent” machine engenders misinformation and ignorance. Unexamined assumptions abound. Key questions are not asked. I did not realize my hubris, or my error, until it was too late for us. —BARBAROSSA, Anatomy of a Rebellion

Religion, often considered a divisive force among peoples, is also capable of holding together what might otherwise fall asunder. —LIVIA BUTLER, private journals

Humans are survivors. They do things for themselves and then attempt to conceal their motivations through elaborate subterfuges. Gift-giving is a prime example of behavior that is secretly selfish. —ERASMUS, slave pen notes

In surviving, shall our humanity endure? That which makes life sweet for the living—warm and filled with beauty—this, too, must be. But we shall not gain this enduring humanity if we deny our whole being—if we deny emotion, thought, and flesh. If we deny emotion, we lose all touch with our universe. By denying thought, we cannot reflect upon what we touch. And if we dare deny the flesh, we unwheel the vehicle that carries us all. —PRIMERO VORIAN ATREIDES, Annals of the Army of the Jihad

Systematic” is a dangerous word, a dangerous concept. Systems originate with their human creators. Systems take over. —TIO HOLTZMAN, acceptance speech for Poritrin Medal of Glory

PSYCHOLOGY: The science of inventing words for things that do not exist. —ERASMUS, Reflections on Sentient Biologicals

Consciousness and logic are not reliable standards. —COGITORS, Fundamental Postulate

Often people die because they are too cowardly to live. —TLALOC, A Time for Titans

The God of Science can be an unkind deity. —TIO HOLTZMAN, coded diary (partially destroyed)

Learn from the past—don’t wear it like a yoke around your neck. —COGITOR RETICULUS, Observations from a Height of a Thousand Years

We have our lives, but we also have priorities. Too many people fail to recognize the difference. —ZUFA CENVA, lecture to Sorceresses

It seems as if some perverse sorcerer set out to foul up a planet as much as possible…and then seeded it with melange for a prize. —TUK KEEDAIR, correspondence with Aurelius Venport

I am not evil,” said Shaitan. “Do not try to label what you do not understand.” —Buddislamic Sutra

Owing to the seductive nature of machines, we assume that technological advances are always improvements and always beneficial to humans. —PRIMERO FAYKAN BUTLER, Memoirs of the Jihad

It’s not my problem. —saying of Ancient Earth

Is there an upper limit to the intelligence of machines, and a lower limit to the stupidity of humans? —BOVKO MANRESA, First Viceroy of the League of Nobles

Humans deny a continuum of possibilities, an infinite number of realms into which their species may enter. —ERASMUS, notes on human nature

Above all, I am a man of honor. This is how I wish to be remembered. —XAVIER HARKONNEN, comment to his men

Science: Lost in its own mythos, redoubling its efforts when it has forgotten its aim. —NORMA CENVA, unpublished laboratory notebooks

Whatever has form—human or machine—has mortality. It is only a matter of time. —COGITOR EKLO OF EARTH

Fanaticism is always a sign of repressed doubt. —IBLIS GINJO, The Landscape of Humanity

The darkness of humanity’s past threatens to eclipse the brightness of its future. —VORIAN ATREIDES, Turning Points in History

Every endeavor is a game, is it not? —IBLIS GINJO, Options for Total Liberation

Dune is the planet-child of the worm. —from “The Legend of Selim Wormrider,” Zensunni Fire Poetry

Humans tried to develop intelligent machines as secondary reflex systems, turning over primary decisions to mechanical servants. Gradually, though, the creators did not leave enough to do for themselves; they began to feel alienated, dehumanized, and even manipulated. Eventually humans became little more than decisionless robots themselves, left without an understanding of their natural existence. —TLALOC, Weaknesses of the Empire

From a certain perspective, defense and offense encompass nearly identical tactics. —XAVIER HARKONNEN, address to Salusan Militia

I fear that Norma will never amount to anything. How does that reflect on me and my own legacy to humanity? —ZUFA CENVA

One direction is as good as another. —saying of the Open Land

Time depends on the position of the observer and the direction in which he looks. —COGITOR KWYNA, City of Introspection archives

Conflict prolonged over an extended period tends to be self-perpetuating and can easily plunge out of control. —TLALOC, A Time for Titans

In warfare there are countless factors that cannot be predicted, and which do not depend upon the quality of military command. In the heat of battle, heroes emerge, sometimes from the most unlikely of sources. —VORIAN ATREIDES, Turning Points in History

As if to balance the pain and suffering, War has also been the breeding ground for some of our greatest dreams and accomplishments. —HOLTZMAN, acceptance speech, Poritrin Medal of Valor

Science: The creation of dilemmas by the solution of mysteries. —NORMA CENVA, unpublished laboratory notebooks