1,085 Quotes by Robert A. Heinlein

Pessimist by policy, optimist by temperament- it is possible to be both. How? By never taking an unnecessary chance and by minimizing the risks you can’t avoid. This permits you to play out the game untroubled by the certainty of the outcome.

Since survival is the sine qua non, I now define the “moral behavior” as “behavior that tends toward survival”.

He’s an honest politician – he stays bought.

It is a bad sign when the people of a country stop identifying themselves with the country and start identifying with a group. A racial group. Or a religion. Or a language. Anything, as long as it isn’t the whole population.

An invention is something that was “impossible” up to then that’s why governments grant patents.

Humans hardly ever learn from the experience of others. They learn – when they do, which isn’t often – on their own, the hard way.

Thinking doesn’t pay. Just makes you discontented with what you see around you.

The more you love, the more you can love – and the more intensely you love.

Women talk when they want to. Or don’t.