491 quotes
I really am a good listener because you never can tell when you will pick up something useful—and all in the world any woman has to do to be considered “charming” by men is to listen while they talk.
Podkayne of Mars (1963)
Wisdom includes not getting angry unnecessarily. The Law ignores trifles and the wise man does, too.
Job: A Comedy of Justice (1984)
I used to wonder what it was like to be rich. Now I am and it turns out to be mostly headaches.
Citizen of the Galaxy (1957)
What he did have was a loud voice and no respect for tyrants. Tyrants hate people like that.
To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987)
Max opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. “No.”
“Speak louder. You used a word I don’t understand.”
Starman Jones (1953)
“Mr. Farnham!” You think they are going to attack?”
Her host shrugged. “The Kremlin doesn’t let me in on its secrets.”
Farnham's Freehold (1964)
Between being ‘right’ and being kind, I know which way I vote.
I Will Fear No Evil (1970)
I have never been impressed by the formal schools of ethics.
Double Star (1956)
He decided to stay in his space suit; explosive decompression didn’t appeal to him. Come to think about it, death from old age was his choice.
The Past Through Tomorrow (1967)
One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
The Pragmatics of Patriotism (1973)
Men are expendable; women and children are not.
The Pragmatics of Patriotism (1973)
A military hierarchy automatically places a premium on conservative behavior and dull conformance with precedent; it tends to penalize original and imaginative thinking.
Space Cadet (1948)
I would be disappointed if everything I saw turned out to be something Western Electric will build once Bell Labs works the bugs out. There ought to be some magic, somewhere, just for flavor.
Glory Road (1963)
Jealousy is a disease; love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often confuses one for the other, or assumes the greater the love, the greater the jealousy. In fact they are almost incompatible; both at once produce unbearable turmoil.
Stranger in a Strange Land (1961)
The sort of guardian you can hire is worth about as much as the sort of wife you can buy.
Space Cadet (1948)
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once.
Time Enough for Love (1973)
“Can I trust you, my friend?”
“If you can’t, then what is my assurance worth?”
Beyond This Horizon (1948)
The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth, One Meter Wide and Two Meters Long.
The Number of the Beast (1980)
“We must make the fee contingent on results.”
“Did you ever hear of anyone in his right mind dealing with a wizard on any other basis?”
The Fantasies of Robert A. Heinlein (1999)
No, chum, there’s a lot of guff talked about freedom. No man is free. There is no such thing as freedom. There are only various privileges.
Off the Main Sequence (2005)