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Throughout history there have been peasant rebellions which have followed always the same course. Blindly, the peasants sacked and destroyed, and when members of the "upper classes" fell into their hands, they killed ruthlessly and cruelly, for never in their lives had they been taught gentleness and mercy by those now in their power.

— Isaac Asimov The Shaping of France (1972)

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More quotes by Isaac Asimov

A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

The Three Laws of Robotics (1942)

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.

Isaac Asimov's Book of Science and Nature Quotations (1988)

There is no belief, however foolish, that will not gather its faithful adherents who will defend it to the death.

The Stars in Their Courses (1974)

A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

The Three Laws of Robotics (1942)

Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Isaac Asimov (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.