"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life."
Quotes by Robert A. Heinlein
35 quotes
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often presented provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science fiction genre and on modern culture more generally.
Quotes by Topic
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Life
View all Life quotes →"One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others."
"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life."
"One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others."
"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Peace
View all Peace quotes →"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
"You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once."
"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Travel
View all Travel quotes →"When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere."
"When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere."
"When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Politics
View all Politics quotes →"It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so."
"The universe never did make sense I suspect it was built on government contract."
"You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Science
View all Science quotes →"One could write a history of science in reverse by assembling the solemn pronouncements of highest authority about what could not be done and could never happen."
"The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science requires reasoning while those other subjects merely require scholarship."
"There is no way that writers can be tamed and rendered civilized or even cured. The only solution known to science is to provide the patient with an isolation room, where he can endure the acute stages in private and where food can be poked in to him with a stick."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Wisdom
View all Wisdom quotes →Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Philosophy
View all Philosophy quotes →"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own... Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy."
"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own... Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Religion
View all Religion quotes →"It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so."
"When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know, the end result is tyranny and oppression no matter how holy the motives."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Love
View all Love quotes →Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Action
View all Action quotes →"I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Experience
View all Experience quotes →"A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Patience
View all Patience quotes →"There is no way that writers can be tamed and rendered civilized or even cured. The only solution known to science is to provide the patient with an isolation room, where he can endure the acute stages in private and where food can be poked in to him with a stick."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Power
View all Power quotes →"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Literature
View all Literature quotes →"One could write a history of science in reverse by assembling the solemn pronouncements of highest authority about what could not be done and could never happen."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Loneliness
View all Loneliness quotes →"I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Happiness
View all Happiness quotes →"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own... Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Imagination
View all Imagination quotes →"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
Robert A. Heinlein quotes on Beauty
View all Beauty quotes →"By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity."