“Power attracts the corruptible. Suspect any who seek it.”

― Frank Herbert, Chapterhouse: Dune


I was fairly certain it was Herbert I have to thank for sharing it :)

Without further searching, I am pretty sure the character who said it was Reverend Mother Darwi Odrade, Mother Superior of the Bene Gesserit, giving counsel to her aides.

The mantra of the Bene Gesserit : "We exist only to serve."


The first hit on Google for a search of "power attracts the corruptible" was one from author David Brin, in the sci-fi novel "The Postman" published in 1985.

"It’s said that “power corrupts,” but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power. When they do act, they think of it as service, which has limits. The tyrant, though, seeks mastery, for which he is insatiable, implacable."

Chapterhouse: Dune was also published in 1985...