The litany against fear......... Got me through calc 2, all three times😅

I remember the dune mini series blowing my mind as a kid.

Isn't "little-death" how french people call an orgasm? Any french people here that can confirm that to me?

Not French, but checked it and Wikipedia says that La petite mort is French for little death and is in fact a euphemism for an orgasm. Now I’m curious about this quote because it’s originally from Dune. I need to know how it was translated to French lmao

Now I need to know too.

The French translation of the litany does refer to it by the same phrase. As much as Americans like to imagine French people are all very poetic, in everyday conversation the word French people use to describe an orgasm is “orgasme” so there would be no confusion about the meaning. “Petite-mort” used to refer to fainting—another temporary weakness/unconsciousness—but it’s not an everyday phrase. I’m not a native speaker but I lived in the Swiss part of France for a while and dated many native speakers, and they all exclusively used the more literal term in a sexual context. I’ve always assumed that Herbert used it intentionally—the Reverend Mother who puts Paul Atriedes through the ordeal where he says the litany speaks an old French-derived language, so it makes sense that a French phrase would creep into the text.

Edited: If you’re curious, the text I have is below. It doesn’t have the exact same cadence as the original, but it retains the same sentiment, and has a style of its own. Litanie contre la Peur

Je ne connaîtrais pas la peur, car la peur tue l'esprit. La peur est la petite mort qui conduit à l'oblitération totale. J'affronterai ma peur. Je lui permettrai de passer sur moi, au travers de moi. Et lorsqu'elle sera passée, je tournerai mon oeil intérieur sur son chemin. Et là où elle sera passée, il n'y aura plus rien.

Rien que moi.

Thanks for the clarification.

THE SPICE MUST FLOW!

Fwiw I’ve always assumed Frank Herbert did this on purpose. The language of Dune was meant to be derived from old Earth languages, and this is an old French phrase. I figured it ended up in there as a nod to those roots—or he just came across it in his research, liked the exactness of it, and stole it, like all good writers :)

Dune gang, represent

I'm not sure taking emotional advice from the bene gesserit is a good idea...

This quote always brings my game back.

Rude Duners!

Fear is what keeps you checked Alive It makes you wiser With no fear life as we know cant exist But like every force it has a balance point

Is that your translation or the original? What is the source of the original?

You can see it here on page 6 of the graphic novel: https://read.amazon.com/sample/B08Q1YX586?f=4&l=en_US&rid=A0TJE7VWFDASA9J9PD2W&sid=142-1900824-3645235&ref_=litb_m Brian Herbert is Frank Herbert’s son, so any translation/edition with his name on it is generally legit.