Robert A. Heinlein Quotes

At least once every human should have to run for his life, to teach him that milk does not come from supermarkets, that safety does not come from policemen, that 'news' is not something that happens to other people. He might learn how his ancestors lived and that he himself is no different — in the crunch his life depends on his agility, alertness, and personal resourcefulness.

Some people insist that 'mediocre' is better than 'best.' They delight in clipping wings because they themselves can't fly. They despise brains because they have none.

Yield to temptation...it may not pass your way again!

Men rarely if ever dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.

Be wary of strong drink, it can make you shoot at the tax collector...and miss.

I never do anything I don't want to do. Nor does anyone, but in my case I am always aware of it.

The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive.

Stupidity cannot be cured. Stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death. There is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.

What are the facts? Again and again and again – what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what “the stars foretell,” avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable “verdict of history” – what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!

No woman ever ages beyond eighteen in her heart.

Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best, he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear his shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house.

There is no safety this side of the grave

My dear, I used to think I was serving humanity . . . and I pleasured in the thought. Then I discovered that humanity does not want to be served; on the contrary it resents any attempt to serve it. So now I do what pleases myself.

Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five billion strangers.

Butterflies are not insects,' Captain John Sterling said soberly. 'They are self-propelled flowers.