491 quotes
At that point I realized that I had been thinking in Russian. It’s a wonderful language for paranoid thoughts.
The Number of the Beast (1980)
I was confused. I didn’t feel telepathic; I merely felt hungry.
Time for the Stars (1956)
“Customs tell a man who he is, where he belongs, what he must do. Better illogical customs than none; men cannot live together without them. From an anthropologist’s view, ’justice’ is a search for workable customs.”
Citizen of the Galaxy (1957)
Apparently she believes she is safe. Evil is essentially stupid, Joe; despite her brilliance, she believes what she wishes to believe. Or it may be that she is willing to risk her own death against the tempting prize of absolute power.
Off the Main Sequence (2005)
You don’t pay back, you pay forward.
“This computer became self-aware and acquired free will.”
“Interesting. If true. I don’t have to believe it. I don’t.”
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985)
“We’re going to die. Aren’t we?”
“Yes.”
“I thought so. Before morning?”
“Oh, no! I feel sure we can live till noon.”
Farnham's Freehold (1964)
“Why do you think this gossip is true?”
“Uh…I heard it and checked around. Everybody knows it.”
“So? Everybody knew the Earth was flat, at one time.”
Farnham's Freehold (1964)
Life is short, but the years are long.
Methuselah's Children (1958)
“Pat, can’t you get it through your thick head to leave well enough alone?”
“I don’t see what’s wrong with my logic.”
“Since when was an emotional argument won by logic?”
Time for the Stars (1956)
Death is an old friend; I know him well. I lived with him, ate with him, slept with him; to meet him again does not frighten me—death is as necessary as birth, as happy in its own way.
I Will Fear No Evil (1970)
He was still having trouble readjusting. Wars were something you studied, not something that actually happened.
Between Planets (1951)
Rod...were you born that stupid? Or did you have to study?
Tunnel in the Sky (1955)
Oh, sure, I learned about other systems in school—but it didn’t soak in. Now I am beginning to grasp emotionally that There Are Other Ways Than Ours…and that people can be happy under them.
Podkayne of Mars (1963)
“Would you find that convincing?”
“No.” Justin Foote nodded. “Reasonable. When a rational man hears something asserted that conflicts with all common sense he will not—and should not—believe it without compelling evidence.
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985)
“The hardest part about gaining any new idea is sweeping out the false idea occupying that niche. As long as that niche is occupied, evidence and proof and logical demonstration get nowhere. But once the niche is emptied of the wrong idea that has been filling it—once you can honestly say, ‘I don’t know,’ then it becomes possible to get at the truth.”
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985)
Go ahead. Go right ahead. Don’t let me discourage you. Any objections from me would simply confirm your preconceptions.
The Rolling Stones (1952)
Take sides! Always take sides! You will sometimes be wrong — but the man who refuses to take sides must always be wrong.
Double Star (1956)
There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966)
Son, suppose you tend to your knitting and I tend to mine.
Double Star (1956)