Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Litany Against Fear

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.

Taken from the classic Frank Herbert novel, Dune, the above text is one of the prayers and meditations of the Bene Gesserit, a powerful matriarchal order in the Duniverse* (p.19).

A cursory Google search found it instantly; thanks to Russell Coker for taking the time to post some beloved Dune ephemera.

*N.B. - I realize that the term "Duniverse" may sound corny to some, however, given the vast scope of Dune stories (not to mention film and TV adaptations) its usage has proven merit among fans. A reader unfamiliar with Dune may be tempted to mispronounce the first syllable with a short /u/ sound, i.e. the "uh" sound in "done", but given the term's similarity to "universe", I expect that anyone's first encounter would result in barely a moment's confusion.
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