Robert A. Heinlein Quotes

502 Sourced Quotes

There is an old, old story about a theologian who was asked to reconcile the Doctrine of Divine Mercy with the doctrine of infant damnation. 'The Almighty,' he explained, 'finds it necessary to do things in His official and public capacity which in His private and personal capacity He deplores.

Robert A. Heinlein
Nursing does not diminish the beauty of a woman's breasts; it enhances their charm by making them look lived in and happy.

Robert A. Heinlein
He shut up, realizing that grim old Mother Nature, red of tooth and claw, invariably punished damn fools who tried to ignore Her or repeal Her ordinances.

Robert A. Heinlein
Big money isn't hard to come by. All it costs is a lifetime of single-minded devotion to acquiring it and making it grow into more money.

Robert A. Heinlein
Son, that phrase is self-contradictory; "sense" is never "common".

Robert A. Heinlein
Note the individual and subjective nature of each case. No two are alike and there is no reason to expect them to be. Each man or woman must find for himself or herself that occupation in which hard work and long hours make him or her happy. Contrariwise, if you are looking for shorter hours and longer vacations and early retirement, you are in the wrong job. Perhaps you need to take up bank robbing. Or geeking in a sideshow. Or even politics.

Robert A. Heinlein
At one time kings were anointed by Deity, so the problem was to see to it that Deity chose the right candidate. In this age the myth is 'the will of the people'... but the problem changes only superficially.

Robert A. Heinlein
Anyone who can worship a trinity and insist that his religion is a monotheism can believe anything.

Robert A. Heinlein
God split himself into a myriad parts that he might have friends. This may not be true, but it sounds good, and is no sillier than any other theology.

Robert A. Heinlein
A fact has no "why." There it stands, self demonstrating.

Robert A. Heinlein
As it says in Bible, God fights on side of heaviest artillery.

Robert A. Heinlein
Please don't invent a debt that does not exist, or next you will be trying to feel gratitude - and that is the treacherous first step toward complete moral degradation.

Robert A. Heinlein
Of all the nonsense that twists the world, the concept of 'altruism' is the worst. People do what they want to, every time. If it pains them to make a choice - if the choice looks like a 'sacrifice' - you can be sure that it is no nobler than the discomfort caused by greediness... the necessity of deciding between two things you want when you can't have both.

Robert A. Heinlein
If I had found out anything, it was that they could print it faster than I could study it.

Robert A. Heinlein
In a family argument, if it turns out you are right, apologize at once.

Robert A. Heinlein
Physics doesn't have to have any use. It just is.

Robert A. Heinlein
Luck is a tag given by the mediocre to account for the accomplishments of genius.

Robert A. Heinlein
Revolutions are not won by enlisting the masses. Revolution is a science for the few who are competent to practice it. It depends on correct organisation and above all, on communications.

Robert A. Heinlein
Permit me to say, speaking from experience, all theories are empty.

Robert A. Heinlein
A fact doesn't have to be understood to be true. Sure, any reasonable mind wants explanations, but it's silly to reject facts that don't fit your philosophy.

Robert A. Heinlein
Some things, the more you understand the more you loathe them.

Robert A. Heinlein
Oh, I have strong opinions, but a thousand reasoned opinions are never equal to one case of diving in and finding out.

Robert A. Heinlein
In handling a stinging insect, move very slowly.

Robert A. Heinlein
The faith in which I was brought up assured me that I was better than other people; I was saved, they were damned.... Our hymns were loaded with arrogance - self-congratulation on how cozy we were with the Almighty and what a high opinion he had of us, what hell everybody else would catch come Judgment Day.

Robert A. Heinlein
Mathematics can never prove anything. No mathematics has any content. All any mathematics can do is — sometimes — turn out to be useful in describing some aspects of our so-called "physical universe." That is a bonus; most forms of mathematics are as meaning-free as chess.

Robert A. Heinlein
There was one field in which man was unsurpassed; he showed unlimited ingenuity in devising bigger and more efficient ways to kill off, enslave, harass, and in all ways make an unbearable nuisance of himself to himself.

Robert A. Heinlein
An elephant: A mouse built to government specifications.

Robert A. Heinlein
Almost everything about a human creature is ridiculous, except its ability to suffer bravely and die gallantly for whatever it loves and believes in. The validity of that belief, the appropriateness of that love, is irrelevant; it is the bravery and the gallantry that count.

Robert A. Heinlein
In past history popularly elected governments have been no better and sometimes far worse than overt tyrannies.

Robert A. Heinlein
It is possible that the percentage of honest and competent whores is higher than that of plumbers and much higher than that of lawyers. And enormously higher than that of professors.

Robert A. Heinlein