185 quotes
Part of being a coward is wanting security.
Neutron Star (1968)
Sometimes there’s no point in giving up.
The Ringworld Engineers (1980)
There is never no hope left. Remember.
The Ringworld Engineers (1980)
Human beings are fragile, watery things. Death spells are the easiest magic there is.
The Magic Goes Away (1976)
Anyone who says human nature can’t be changed is out of his head. To make it stick, he’s got to define human nature—and he can’t.
Tales of Known Space (1975)
Isn’t the history of human interaction the conversion of neighbors into enemies? Or into nonhumans, that we might deprive them of said chattels, or life itself?
The California Voodoo Game (1992)
“Do you like strange places and faraway people—or vice versa?”
“Both.”
A Hole in Space (1974)
I’ll try anything that improves my education and is fun at the time.
Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)
“They should give medals for this, Martinez.”
“By the time the paperwork goes through, we’ll both be dead and gone.”
“Too true.”
The Legacy of Heorot (1987)
War between the sexes had always seemed silly to Corbell. Too much fraternizing with the enemy, ha-ha.
A World Out of Time (1976)
I do not want all critics hanged alongside the lawyers and tax collectors. The good ones serve a purpose.
Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)
There’s always another problem behind the one you just solved. Does that mean that you should stop solving problems?
The Flight of the Horse (1973)
Do you know what it’s like to be suddenly poor and not know how to live poor?
Neutron Star (1968)
Time is a one-way street with no parking spaces. You just have to keep going.
Convergent Series (1979)
Happiness is beautiful, all by itself. A happy person is beautiful, per se.
Flatlander (1995)
One mark of a good officer, he remembered, was the ability to make quick decisions. If they happen to be right, so much the better.
Ringworld (1970)
You question my dispassionate judgment? Men have died for less!
Flatlander (1995)
Giving up freedom for security has begun to look naive.
3) Stories to end all stories on a given topic, don't.
17) No technique works if it isn't used.