Дюна
Book Two: Muad‘dib
Thisisnothingpersonal,foryouarebeautifulanddesirable.Butshouldyoubecomeoneofmywomen,thatmightleadsomeofmyyoungmentobelievethatI’mtoomuchconcernedwithpleasuresofthefleshandnotenoughconcernedwiththetribe’sneeds.Evennowtheylistentousandwatchus.”
Amanwhoweighshisdecisions,whothinksofconsequences,shethought.
“Therearethoseamongmyyoungmenwhohavereachedtheageofwildspirits,”hesaid.“Theymustbeeasedthroughthisperiod.Imustleavenogreatreasonsaroundforthemtochallengeme.BecauseIwouldhavetomaimandkillamongthem.Thisisnotthepropercourseforaleaderifitcanbeavoidedwithhonor.Aleader,yousee,isoneofthethingsthatdistinguishesamobfromapeople.Hemaintainsthelevelofindividuals.Toofewindividuals,andapeoplerevertstoamob.”
Hiswords,thedepthoftheirawareness,thefactthathespokeasmuchtoherastothosewhosecretlylistened,forcedhertoreevaluatehim.
Hehasstature,shethought.Wheredidhelearnsuchinnerbalance?
“Thelawthatdemandsourformofchoosingaleaderisajustlaw,”Stilgarsaid.“Butitdoesnotfollowthatjusticeisalwaysthethingapeopleneeds.Whatwetrulyneednowistimetogrowandprosper,tospreadourforceovermoreland.”
Whatishisancestry?shewondered.Whencecomessuchbreeding?Shesaid:“Stilgar,Iunderestimatedyou.”
“Suchwasmysuspicion,”hesaid.
“Eachofusapparentlyunderestimatedtheother,”shesaid.
“Ishouldlikeanendtothis,”hesaid.“Ishouldlikefriendshipwithyou...andtrust.
