Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinleinwas an American science-fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was an influential and controversial author of the genre in his time...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth7 July 1907
CountryUnited States of America
responsibility differences safety
The moral difference between a soldier and a civilian is that the soldier accepts personal responsibility for the safety of the body politic of which he is a member. The civilian does not.
loyalty responsibility men
Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man must develop himself; if he has them forced down him, he will vomit them out.
running responsibility government
Any government will work if authority and responsibility are equal and coordinate. This does not insure “good” government, it simply insures that it will work. But such governments are rare — most people want to run things, but want no part of the blame. This used to be called the “backseat driver” syndrome.
budget fun happy ingredient luxuries notebooks robert
Another ingredient in a happy marriage: Budget the luxuries first! Notebooks of Lazarus Long, Robert A
elephants human nice
Elephants aren't human but they are very nice people.
authority highest history reverse science solemn until
Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done. 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.
meat robert sign steers treaties
Do steers sign treaties with meat packers? Robert A
correct march neither optimist pessimist stop
Don't ever become a pessimist, Ira; a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun--and neither can stop the march of events.
data guess logical man
To get anywhere, or even live a long time, a man has to guess, and guess right, over and over again, without enough data for a logical answer.
accomplish alone character cold goodness hard invariably wisdom
But goodness alone is never enough. A hard cold wisdom is required, too, for goodness to accomplish good. Goodness without wisdom invariably accomplishes evil.
annoys pig teach time
Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.
condition essential happiness love
Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.
amazing beings fighting human second strange third
Of all the strange "crimes" that human beings have legislated of nothing, "blasphemy" is the most amazing - with "obscenity" and "indecent exposure" fighting it out for the second and third place.
girls notebooks robert wonderful
What a wonderful world it is that has girls in it! Notebooks of Lazarus Long, Robert A