Orange Catholic Bible

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Orange Catholic Bible (or O.C. Bible) is a fictional book from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Created in the wake of the war against thinking machines known as the Butlerian Jihad, the O.C. Bible is the key religious text in the Dune universe and is described thus in the glossary of Dune:

ORANGE CATHOLIC BIBLE: the "Accumulated Book," the religious text produced by the Commission of Ecumenical Translators. It contains elements of most ancient religions, including the Maometh Saari, Mahayana Christianity, Zensunni Catholicism and Buddislamic traditions. Its supreme commandment is considered to be: "Thou shalt not disfigure the soul."

The appendix of Dune also notes that the chief commandment of the Butlerian Jihad (or Great Revolt) remains in the O.C. Bible as "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind." This edict is attributed directly to Rayna Butler in the Legends of Dune series. It is further explained in the Dune appendix that the passage "Paradise on my right. Hell on my left, and the Angel of Death behind" describes human life as a journey across a narrow bridge (the Sirat).

In Dune, Doctor Yueh gives Paul Atreides his copy of the OCB during their initial trip to Arrakis. This copy is a space-traveler's miniaturized edition of the tome, set in tiny print on fragile pages made from "filament paper." It is described as "black, oblong, no larger than the end of Paul's thumb" but contains eighteen hundred pages. Yueh instructs Paul in its use:

It has its own magnifier and electrostatic charge system ... The book is held closed by the charge, which forces against spring-locked covers. You press the edge — thus, and the pages you've selected repel each other and the book opens ... the charge moves ahead one page at a time as you read. Never touch the actual pages with your fingers. The filament tissue is too delicate.

1 Selected quotes from the Orange Catholic Bible
- 1.1 Original Dune series
- 1.2 Prelude to Dune
2 Selected quotes from the Commission of Ecumenical Translators’ Orange Catholic Bible Commentaries
3 Name
4 The Dune Encyclopedia
- 4.1 Books of the Orange Catholic Bible
- 4.2 Religions that contributed to the Orange Catholic Bible
5 See also

[edit] Selected quotes from the Orange Catholic Bible

In the Dune universe, many references are made to the Orange Catholic Bible, sometimes in the form of epigraphs. The following quotes illustrate the nature of the OCB, including how it pertains to the technophobia mindset resulting from the Butlerian Jihad, causing humans to become analytical devices. Probable source material has been cited, but it should be noted that quotes may not reference the same chapter and verse as the source material due to the text having been edited and condensed over time.

[edit] Original Dune series

Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a man's mind. — Quoted by Paul Atreides, Dune (Presumably inspired by the Decalogue in the Hebrew Bible.)

From water does all life begin. — 467 Kalima, as quoted by Wellington Yueh and later Paul Atreides, Dune (4:67 Kalima)

Think you of the fact that a deaf person cannot hear. Then, what deafness may we not all possess? What senses do we lack that we cannot see and cannot hear another world all around us? What is there around us that we cannot – — Quoted by Paul Atreides, Dune (later referenced in part in Dune Messiah and Dune: House Atreides)

I have been a stranger in a strange land. — Quoted by Gurney Halleck, Dune

The gift is the blessing of the giver. — Quoted by Paul Atreides, Dune

A time to get and time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away; a time for love and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace. — Quoted by Lady Jessica, Dune (From Ecclesiastes 3:4,6 in the Hebrew Bible.)

Paradise on my right, Hell on my left and the Angel of Death behind. — Quoted by Paul Atreides, Dune

Whether a thought is spoken or not it is a real thing and has powers of reality. — 22 Kalima, as quoted in Appendix II: The Religion of Dune, Dune (22 Kalima)

Thou shalt not disfigure the soul. — The "supreme commandment" according to Terminology of the Imperium in the appendix of Dune

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the sand; and he had two horns like a lamb, but his mouth was fanged and fiery as the dragon and his body shimmered and burned with great heat while it did hiss like the serpent. — Revised Orange Catholic Bible, Children of Dune (Probably Arran and soon before the following quote; this could also be a translation from the Book of Revelation in the New Testament.)

Thou shall not suffer a witch to live. (Maleficos non patieris vivere.) — Translated by Alia Atreides, Children of Dune (Derived from Exodus 22:18 in the Hebrew Bible)

Thou didst divide the sand by thy strength; Thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the desert. Yea, I behold thee as a beast coming up from the dunes; thou hast the horns of the lamb, but thou speakest as the dragon. — Revised Orange Catholic Bible, Arran 11:4, Children of Dune

Are these the meek who will outwait us all and inherit the universe? — Paraphrased by Duncan Idaho, God Emperor of Dune (Probably Psalms and quoted in Gospel)

In the beginning was the word and the word was God. — Quoted by Tleilaxu Master Waff, Heretics of Dune Derived from the Gospel of John 1:1)

— and on the seventh day He rested. — Quoted by Bene Gesserit Darwi Odrade, Heretics of Dune (A reference to the creation story in Genesis)

[edit] Prelude to Dune

The Orange Catholic Bible is also quoted in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, often in the form of epigraphs. Though the authors have stated that Frank Herbert left behind unused epigraphs and notes which they later used in their prequels and sequels ^[1], it is unknown which of these (if any) are from those notes.

The highest master in the material world is the human mind, and the beasts of the field and the machines of the city must be forever subordinate — Quoted by Leto Atreides I, Dune: House Atreides

Blindness can take many forms other than the inability to see. Fanatics are often blinded in their thoughts. Leaders are often blinded in their hearts. — Dune: House Atreides

May the one true God shine his light upon you from all the stars in the Imperium. — Quoted by Tleilaxu Master Ajidica, Dune: House Atreides

Only God can make living, sentient creatures. — Dune: House Atreides

You of fearful heart, be strong and fear not. Behold, your God will come with a vengeance; He will come and save you from the worshipers of machine. — Dune: House Atreides

Vengeance is in the hands of the Lord. — Quoted by Earl Dominic Vernius, Dune: House Atreides

Behold, O Man, you can create life. You can destroy life. But, lo, you have no choice but to experience life. And therein lies both your greatest strength and your greatest weakness. — Book of Kimla Septima 5:3, Dune: House Harkonnen (Kimla Septima 5:3)

Make cheer from your own heart, for the sun rises and sets according to your perspective on the universe. — Quoted by Gurney Halleck, Dune: House Harkonnen

Some lies are easier to believe than the truth. — Dune: House Harkonnen

Greet all those whom you would have as friends, and welcome them with your heart as well as your hand. — Quoted by Gurney Halleck, Dune: House Harkonnen

Beware the seeds you sow and the crops you reap. Do not curse God for the punishment you inflict upon yourself. — Dune: House Harkonnen

Knowledge is pitiless. — Dune: House Harkonnen

Fate and Hope only rarely speak the same language. — Dune: House Corrino

For mankind is lost even with the righteous path laid out for him. Yet no matter how far we stray, God knows where to find us, for He can see the whole universe. — Quoted by Gurney Halleck/Rhombur Vernius, Dune: House Corrino

One comes to know God only through patience. — Quoted by Gurney Halleck, Dune: House Corrino

It is easy to love a friend, hard to love an enemy. — Quoted by Leto Atreides I, Dune: House Corrino

If you have no faith in your friends, then you have no true friends. — Quoted by Rhombur Vernius, Dune: House Corrino

[edit] Selected quotes from the Commission of Ecumenical Translators’ Orange Catholic Bible Commentaries

(Except where noted otherwise, all quotes are from Dune, Appendix II: The Religion of Dune.)

Men, finding no answers to the sunnan [the ten thousand religious questions from the Shari-ah] now apply their own reasoning. All men seek to be enlightened. Religion is but the most ancient and honorable way in which men have striven to make sense out of God's universe. Scientists seek the lawfulness of events. It is the task of Religion to fit man into this lawfulness.

When law and religious duty are one, your selfdom encloses the universe.

Religion often partakes of the myth of progress that shields us from the terrors of an uncertain future.

The Universe is God's. It is one thing, a wholeness against which all separations may be identified. Transient life, even that self-aware and reasoning life which we call sentient, holds only fragile trusteeship on any portion of the wholeness. (epigraph in Children of Dune)

Much that was called religion has carried an unconscious attitude of hostility toward life. True religion must teach that life is filled with joys pleasing to the eye of God, that knowledge without action is empty. All men must see that the teaching of religion by rules and rote is largely a hoax. The proper teaching is recognized with ease. You can know it without fail because it awakens within you that sensation which tells you this is something you've always known.

[edit] Name

The name "Orange Catholic" specifically suggests the reunification of the Protestant and Roman Catholic branches of Christianity. The color orange is connected to Protestantism through its association with William of Orange who was a champion of the Protestant cause in the late 17th century, ultimately invading England and deposing his Catholic father-in-law James II. Hence, "Orange Catholic" implies a union of diverse religious beliefs had occurred.

[edit] The Dune Encyclopedia

According to the non-canon Dune Encyclopedia, tentative initial titles for the Orange Catholic Bible were the Koranjiyana Zenchristian Scriptures or Zenchristian Navakoran. Although no explicit listings of the books composing the work or of the contributing religions has been given in the Dune novels themselves, some information is provided in the Encyclopedia.