Yep, I remember the line from the book. To me that shows self reflection/awareness that Hitler would’ve never been capable of. Paul understands that he does monstrous things and might be a monster himself. I think it really wears on him which is why the ending happens the way it does. There were ways out of the situation if he really wanted to go full blown space Hitler.
I’ve always thought the space Hitler thing was a pretty big misunderstanding or generalization of Paul’s character. Hitler couldn’t see the result of all outcomes and pick the least bad outcome in the same way. Paul could literally see the future and decided his path would result in the least amount of suffering. No human has ever been forced to experience that burden. I think he’s a fascinating character and the oversimplifications irk me a bit.
Might as well take their time since there’s like a 12 year time skip in the books.
I don’t think Leto would’ve been able to go through with the Golden Path either if he had ever been a normal human. Leto even calls himself an abomination which is what the Bene Gesserit were testing for at the beginning of the entire story. Paul is a human so he has flaws and can’t follow all the way through with dehumanizing himself to realize the Golden Path. Leto was never human in the first place. He was an abomination so the path was achievable for him. That’s my interpretation anyway.