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The prophet's mantle, ere his flight began, Dropt on the world — a sacred gift to man. ~ Thomas Campbell

A prophet is an individual who, in religious terms, is claimed to have been contacted by divine or supernatural entities, or to speak for such, serving as an intermediary with humanity, delivering knowledge or information of such entities to others. The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy. Traditionally, prophets are regarded as having a role in society that promotes change due to their messages and actions. The English word "prophet" comes from the Greek προφήτης (profétés) meaning advocate, and has become applied generally to anyone who makes predictions based on nearly any means of analysis or assessment, whether correct or not.


I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. ~ Elijah
Muad'Dib could indeed see the Future, but you must understand the limits of this power... ~ Frank Herbert, in Dune
A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country and in his own house. ~ Jesus
  • I shall always consider the best guesser the best prophet.
    • Cicero, De Divinatione, II. 5, a Greek adage
  • And those dwelling on the earth rejoice over them and enjoy themselves, and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those dwelling on the earth. And after the three and a half days spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon those beholding them.
    • Frank Herbert, in Dune (1965), Book 2: Muad'Dib, Arrakis Awakening by the Princess Irulan
    • Frank Herbert, in Dune (1965), Book 2: Muad'Dib, Private Reflections on Muad'Dib by the Princess Irulan
  • The prophet is not diverted by illusions of past, present and future. The fixity of language determines such linear distinctions. Prophets hold a key to the lock in a language. The mechanical image remains only an image to them. This is not a mechanical universe. The linear progression of events is imposed by the observer. Cause and effect? That's not it at all. The prophet utters fateful words. You glimpse a thing "destined to occur." But the prophetic instant releases something of infinite portent and power. The universe undergoes a ghostly shift. Thus, the wise prophet conceals actuality behind shimmering labels. The uninitiated then believe the prophetic language is ambiguous. The listener distrusts the prophetic messenger. Instinct tells you how the utterance blunts the power of such words. The best prophets lead you up to the curtain and let you peer through for yourself.
    • Jesus, in Matthew, XIII. 57
  • As it was, deformed and made mad by his hellish life, he had become what prophets had probably always been: not frauds, for they themselves believed what they had seen, but pitiful creatures, dreaming some salvation from this crushing world in their malfunctioning brains. Yaum ed din, the crazy little man, the prophet Aida’s John the Baptist, had said: the Day of Religion, the Muslim’s term for Judgment Day. Yaum ed din, the last consolation of the crazy and the weak.
    • Jamil Nasir, in Tower of Dreams (1999), Chapter 9 (p. 123)

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