Robert A. Heinlein Quotes

A man who bets on greed and dishonesty won’t be wrong too often.

The way to find justice is to deal fairly with other people and not worry about how they deal with you.

“From the ignoramuses we get for recruits I’ve reached the conclusion that this new-fangled ‘functional education’ has abolished studying in favor of developing their cute little personalities.”

A managed democracy is a wonderful thing... for the managers... and its greatest strength is a 'free press' when 'free' is defined as 'responsible' and the managers define what is 'irresponsible'.

“This computer became self-aware and acquired free will.”
“Interesting. If true. I don’t have to believe it. I don’t.”

I am learning that we still have things to learn.

“People tend to fall into three psychological types, all differently motivated. There is the type, motivated by economic factors, money...And there is the type motivated by ‘face,’ or pride. This type is a spender, fighter, boaster, lover, sportsman, gambler; he has a will to power and an itch for glory. And there is the professional type, which claims to follow a code of ethics rather than simply seeking money or glory—priests and ministers, teachers, scientists, medical men, some artists and writers. The idea is that such a man believes that he is devoting his life to some purpose more important than his individual self. You follow me?”

“I don’t recommend disturbing either corpses or golfers.”
“There’s a difference?”

It is an emotional impossibility for any man to believe in his own death.

No philosopher allows his opinions to be swayed by facts—he would be kicked out of his guild. Theologians, the lot of them.

Here is this poor little caryatid who has tried — and failed, fallen under the load. She's a good girl — look at her face. Serious, unhappy at her failure, but not blaming anyone else, not even the gods… and still trying to shoulder her load, after she's crumpled under it. But she's more than good art denouncing some very bad art; she's a symbol for every woman who has ever tried to shoulder a load that was too heavy for her — over half the female population of this planet, living and dead, I would guess. But not alone women — this symbol is sexless. It means every man and every woman who ever lived who sweated out life in uncomplaining fortitude, whose courage wasn't even noticed until they crumpled under their loads.

In the first place there isn’t a distinguished anthropologist in the world but what you’ll find one equally distinguished who will call him a diamond-studded liar. They can’t agree on the simplest elements of their alleged science.

...the word 'love' designates a subjective condition in which the welfare and happiness of another person are essential to one's own happiness.

Good government grows out of the people; it cannot be handed to them.

I don’t believe in luck, Sam. Luck is a tag given by the mediocre to account for the accomplishments of genius.