It was all very puzzling—both that Jill could smell still more like Jill… and that Dorcas should wish to smell like Jill when she already smelled like herself… and that Jubal would say that Dorcas smelled like a cat when she did not. There was a cat who lived on the place (not as a pet, but as co-owner); on rare occasions it came to the house and deigned to accept a handout. The cat and Mike had grokked each other at once, and Mike had found its carniverous thoughts most pleasing and quite Martian. He had discovered, too, that the cat's name (Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche) was not the cat's name at all, but he had not told anyone this because he could not pronounce the cat's real name; he could only hear it in its head. The cat did not smell like Dorcas.
Robert A. Heinlein
Related Dorcas, you already reek like a Marseilles cat house; don't wheedle Mike for more stinkum. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I like to open for a band as it brings on sort of a challenge and it makes things more interesting. ... KELLY JONES Jill... had explained homosexuality, after Mike had read about it and failed to grok--and had given ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN We've had cats all our lives, and I received Ralph when he was a kitten. He's both a house cat and a... CARRIE KNOX Mike had a wife and her name was Terri. She came before me, and I knew that. That was just that. Not... JODI SCHIAVO My observation was he was extremely intoxicated. He had difficulty walking. He had slurred speech, a... ED PRISBY Of course, maybe I'd end up like one of those crazy old people with, like, sixty cats. And one day, ... ALEX FLINN She was still hugging the cat. "Poor slob," she said, tickling his head, "poor slob without a name. ... TRUMAN CAPOTE It’s not that I don’t like cats. And really, I think I would enjoy having… a cat. But what if ... CORA CARMACK The Lady Amalthea beckoned, and the cat wriggled all over, like a dog, but he would not come near...... PETER S. BEAGLE Sometimes she could swear that she saw, in Joe Grey's eyes, a judgment far too perceptive, a watchfu... SHIRLEY ROUSSEAU MURPHY He smelled like bikes. Like a mechanic. She loved that smell. LAUREN GILLEY But now she could not bear the way she sounded. She was not a person anyone could love. .... PETER CAREY Ophelia,' said the boy. He said it very quietly. She didn't like the way he said that at all. He sou... KAREN FOXLEE The smell of apple pies didn't quite fill the house, but it was there, a thread under everything els... LILITH SAINTCROW He remembered Tessa weeping in his arms in Paris, and thinking that he had never known the loss she ... CASSANDRA CLARE Rousseau pounced. Men who dislike cats were tyrannical: "They do not like cats because the cat is fr... ROBERT ZARETSKY Cats don't have shoulders, not like people do. But the cat shrugged, in one smooth movement that sta... NEIL GAIMAN And then there is the black cat. Who has no other name than the Black Cat and who turned up almost a... NEIL GAIMAN I had a cat I could not see, Because it stayed in back of me. It was a very loyal pet- PEGGY RATHMANN Her mother had smelled of cold and scales, her father of stone dust and dog. She imagined her husban... LAUREN GROFF It was like they waited to tell each other things that had never been told before. What she had to s... CARSON MCCULLERS ...his soul (was) ringing like a well-struck bell. But it was a bell that rang with more than joy an... PAUL HOFFMAN Gromit was the name of a cat. When I started modeling the cat I just didn't feel it was quite ri... NICK PARK It was Sam's first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad tha... J.R.R. TOLKIEN She saw how he was staring at it, the bright red hue beneath her bonnet. She could not bear to see t... CHARLOTTE FEATHERSTONE We had a small terrace house for sale. The owners were posted to Singapore and were at a loss as to ... JAMES BAILEY I sometimes longed for someone who, like me, had not adjusted perfectly with his age, and such a per... JULIO CORTáZAR 38. “A wet bird never flies at night.” (My grandfather said that to me when I was a child and wa... JAMES C. DOBSON I’ve tried that. I’ve tried aspirin, too. Rusty thinks I should smoke marijuana, and I did for a... TRUMAN CAPOTE What was after the universe? Nothing. But was there anything round the universe to show where it sto... JAMES JOYCE When I was a kid I joined the circus. I did that. It is true. But it's not like you think. There... CHRISTOPHER WALKEN When she came to her senses again she cut off all contact with him. It had not been easy, but she ha... STIEG LARSSON Yet he could not enjoy the walk. In the morning especially a bougainvillaea looks handmade, lawns ar... DOUGLAS WOOLF The suburb of Saffron Park lay on the sunset side of London, as red and ragged as a cloud of sunset.... G.K. CHESTERTON Of course, she could still walk away. She won't, he thought. She has to feel it, too. He said, " I'v... MAGGIE STIEFVATER Whether or not, he felt very much at home in this state. It was to places like this that they had se... DOUGLAS WOOLF Gus is the Cat at the Theatre Door. His name, as I ought to have told you before, Is reall... T.S. ELIOT If she had touched me," he said very softly, "I would have been hers and not my own, not ever again.... PETER S. BEAGLE An emotion clamped down on her heart. It squeezed her into a terrible silence. But he said nothing a... MARIE RUTKOSKI The multicolored kitten snuggled between her breasts. Lucky cat. "I thought ma... CANDIS TERRY His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings. At one ti... ERNEST HEMINGWAY Like all men with a faculty that surpasses human requirements, his father was very nervous. Then, to... ERNEST HEMINGWAY If you were crossing the road and saw a black cat passing, you may possibly get hit by a car, or a m... BASMA SALEM Cheshire Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name... LEWIS CARROLL Let us be honest: most of us rather like our cats to have a streak of wickedness. I should not feel ... BEVERLEY NICHOLS Bloodclan, Attack!" Not a cat moved Tigerstar's amber eyes widened and he screeched "Atta... ERIN HUNTER He considered for a moment, then started to play a piece that was very familiar to Ruth, although sh... K.M. PEYTON For all his determination to keep her at arm's length, they had literally leaned on each other. He c... ROBERT GALBRAITH He could see plainly that she was not herself. That is, he could not see that she was becoming herse... KATE CHOPIN I could admire his skills, and be relieved when he was on my side in a fight. But for a rat to like ... MARIA V. SNYDER He fell to the seat, she by his side. There were no more words. The stars were beginning to shine. H... VICTOR HUGO He made a sound like a choked laughed before he reached out and pulled her into her arms. She was aw... CASSANDRA CLARE Astrid and Taylor didn’t like each other much. But Taylor was an extremely valuable person to have... MICHAEL GRANT Lucinda might sneak from her own house at midnight to place a wager somewhere else, but she dared no... PETER CAREY The house-cat is a four-legged quadruped, the legs as usual being at the corners. It is what is some... HELEN EXLEY What I did when I identified Mike Webster's thing, I showed it to other doctors. We all agreed t... BENNET OMALU The Assassin moved quietly from roof to roof until he was well away from the excitement around the W... TERRY PRATCHETT But surely Uncle Akbar could not be dead as they were dead? There must be something indestructible �... M.M. KAYE Stanley lived on his own for many years after his wife passed away. Stanley had a cat that was his c... JULIE ODIL Adam is definitely said to be vegetarian and not only that but even after the fall, Adam is seen as ... LEVIAK B. KELLY It’s not his last life,” she rasped, “and even if it were, I couldn’t kill him.” “Why no... ERIN HUNTER It was as if she was a dream, like London, which he could not entirely grasp and of which he was not... SARA SHERIDAN Besides, thinking kind thoughts about Valek could be extremely dangerous. I could admire his skills,... MARIA V. SNYDER There was once a tiger-striped cat. This cat died a million deaths, and lived a million lives, and i... KEIKO NOBUMOTO Nick shook his head and found to his surprise that he did have tears left after all. He wasn't surpr... GARTH NIX He moved like a cat, a ballet dancer, but there was nothing homosexual about him...He could be dange... LEE MARVIN And he said that wasn’t brave of him, doing that, just standing there and being stung,’ said Cor... NEIL GAIMAN Inside the music like this, she understood many things. She understood that Simon was a disappointed... ELIZABETH STROUT When it comes to reflexes, I'm like a cat. I'm Catwoman. I'm invulnerable. The only reason he got a ... BECCA FITZPATRICK It was exciting to be off on a journey she had looked forward to for months. Oddly, the billowing di... E.A. BUCCHIANERI I was perhaps about 10 years old when a local farmer rang us up to say he had found a young badger a... OWEN PATERSON Midland City had a goddess of discord all its own. This was a goddess who could not dance, would not... KURT VONNEGUT He could not stand. It was not That he could not thrive, he was born With everything but t... TED HUGHES And that is why, when he finally did come across the street, I lit my cigarette with my lighter - no... ADAM LEVIN Each of them had done their best. Matt was still his friend. For Meredith, maybe the day would come ... L.J. SMITH Frodo drew the Ring out of his pocket again and looked at it. It now appeared plain and smooth, with... J.R.R. TOLKIEN When Sophie had first learned to read, Charles had kept the whisky in a bottle labeled CAT'S URINE, ... KATHERINE RUNDELL The cats at the edge of the clearing were staring up at the sky, their eyes huge with fear. As he lo... ERIN HUNTER Notice how Harry Styles smile is like the Cheshire Cat? And how he is from Cheshire and loves cats..... NATALIE STENGER Because Adam practised at many things, Adam was good at many things, but this – what was it even c... MAGGIE STIEFVATER Even in that short time he had seen that Anne had great power. She did not care if she quarreled wit... PHILIPPA GREGORY You say that your fare told you that he was a detective?" "Yes, he did." "When did he say ... ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE My little 8-year-old brother drew a picture of three cats and he wrote 'Cat Empire' under them. When... FELIX RIEBL I was also given more unusual things to do - like I become a cat in one scene! I loved that, because... EMMA WATSON How can I tell a story we already know too well? Her name was Africa. His was France. He colonized h... REBECCA SOLNIT He, too, stood looking at her for a moment--and it seemed to her that it was not a look of greeting ... AYN RAND A nod at Beatrice who held absolutely still. "She said she would come with me. She insisted on it. S... METTE IVIE HARRISON They said she could not do it. But she didn’t listen so when she did it. And when they stood in aw... TONI SORENSON She had given him all she had - but what was it compared to the other gifts life held for him? She u... EDITH WHARTON Andrew sifted through the photos: lush, sprawling gardens of herbs and flowers, others dotted with c... ELLEN HERRICK Well, I only wish you may all not have your throats slit by Uygurs," Riley said in deep pessimism, g... NAOMI NOVIK He could not blame the Army, Angelo could blame the Army; Angelo hated the Army. But he didnt hate t... JAMES JONES I remember as a child going to an exhibit about the Soviet Union, and every paper had this alien sme... BEN KATCHOR Richard did not believe in angels, he never had. He was damned if he was going to start now. Still, ... NEIL GAIMAN What made more sense was that the bargain she was bound to was to go on living as she had been doing... ALICE MUNRO She raised one hand and flexed its fingers and wondered, as she had sometimes before, how this thing... IAN MCEWAN ...He was a greater craftsman even than Isaac, and he knew it, and so, presently, did Isaac. ELIZABETH GOUDGE One day mouse was hungry it went out and saw some tasty cheese so he took it. It done that same thin... GARY F EVANS... Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion. "I am dying of thirst," said Jill. "Then drink," said... C.S. LEWIS
More Robert A. Heinlein
Don't ever become a pessimist... a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimis... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN One man's 'magic' is another man's engineering. 'Supernatural' is a null wor... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The universe never did make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Yield to temptation. It may not pass your way again. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science requires reasoning while those... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Never worry about theory as long as the machinery does what it's supposed to do. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN They didn't want it good, they wanted it Wednesday. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matt... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortu... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN To be matter-of-fact about the world is to blunder into fantasy - and dull fantasy at that, as the r... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political po... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. An equally lo... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with hi... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Anyone who clings to the historically untrue -- and -- thoroughly immoral doctrine that violence nev... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."
A Libertarian Movement slogan - The Moon Is a Harsh Mi... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Never try to outstubborn a cat. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Don't explain computers to laymen. Simpler to explain sex to a virgin. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Love" is a that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own...Jealou... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Anybody can look at a pretty girl and see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I grok in fullness. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Being sorry won't get you into heaven. Get happy, son. Get that old spring into your step and stay o... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Government! Three fourths parasitic and the other fourth Stupid fumbling. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN English is the largest of human tongues, with several times the vocabulary of the second largest lan... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Faith strikes me as intellectual laziness. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Art is the process of evoking pity and terror, which is not abstract at all but very human. What the... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Thou art god, I am god. All that groks is god. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I'm always suspicious of disinterested interest. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I’ve been kissed by men who did a very good job. But they don’t give kissing their whole attenti... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN He's an honest politician--he stays bought. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The slickest way in the world to lie is to tell the right amount of truth at the right time-and then... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Its very variety, subtlety, and utterly irrational, idiomatic complexity makes it possible to say th... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallo... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN If God existed (a question concerning which Jubal maintained a meticulous intellectual neutrality) a... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its fa... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN It's up to the artist to use language that can be understood, not hide it in some private code. Most... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN My dear, I used to think I was serving humanity . . . and I pleasured in the thought. Then I discove... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN There is no safety this side of the grave ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I do know that the slickest way to lie is to tell the right amount of truth--then shut up. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I never do anything I don't want to do. Nor does anyone, but in my case I am always aware of it. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Anybody can look at a pretty girl and see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN If you've got the truth you can demonstrate it. Talking doesn't prove it. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Thinking doesn't pay. Just makes you discontented with what you see around you. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN But goodness alone is never enough. A hard, cold wisdom is required for goodness to accomplish good.... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Consider the black widow spider. It's a timid little beastie, useful and, for my taste, the pretties... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Secrecy begets tyranny. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A desire not to butt into other people's business is at least eighty percent of all human wisdom. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I've found out why people laugh. They laugh because it hurts so much . . . because it's the only thi... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the oth... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN No matter where or what, there are makers, takers, and fakers. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Learning isn't a means to an end; it is an end in itself. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, desig... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Belief gets in the way of learning. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Theology is never any help; it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn't ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN To get anywhere, or even live a long time, a man has to guess, and guess right, over and over again,... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The whole principle is wrong; it's like demanding that grown men live on skim milk because the baby ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I've never understood how God could expect His creatures to pick the one true religion by faith - it... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Human beings hardly ever learn from the experience of others. They learn; when they do, which isn't ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A generation which ignores history has no past and no future. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Gratitude: An imaginary emotion that rewards an imaginary behavior, altruism. Both imaginaries are f... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The greatest productive force is human selfishness. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Those who cling to the untrue doctrine that violence never settles anything would be advised to conj... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The universe never did make sense. I suspect that it was built on a government contract. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, This you m... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do somethi... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a c... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. An equally lo... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN You live and you learn -- or you don't live long. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Most people who sneer at technology would starve to death if the engineering infrastructure were rem... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find th... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A dying culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Sense is never common. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Why is it that every time I'm with you, makes me believe in magic? ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do somethin... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Sex without love is merely healthy exercise. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Sex, whatever else it is, is an athletic skill. The more you practice, the more you can, the more yo... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I never learned from a man who agreed with me. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, This you may ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN There is no way that writers can be tamed and rendered civilized or even cured. The only solution kn... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN May you live as long as you wish and love as long as you live. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Never underestimate the power of human stupidity. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I was there to see beautiful naked women. So was everybody else. It's a common failing. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The trouble with conspiracies is that they rot internally. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Theology is never any help; it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Butterflies are not insects,' Captain John Sterling said soberly. 'They are self-propelled flowers. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Butterflies are self propelled flowers. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The Universe was a damned silly place at best . . . but the least likely explanation for its existen... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own... Jealousy... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with hi... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN One could write a history of science in reverse by assembling the solemn pronouncements of highest a... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, an... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Goodness without wisdom always accomplishes evil. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The most preposterous notion that Homo sapiens has ever dreamed up is that the Lord God of Creation,... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN For me, politeness is a sine qua non of civilization. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acqui... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Never insult anyone by accident. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creeds into law if it acqu... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Most people can't think, most of the remainder won't think, the small fraction who do think mostly c... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN If a grasshopper tries to fight a lawnmower, one may admire his courage but not his judgement. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Happiness lies in being privileged to work hard for long hours in doing whatever you think is worth ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN It's an indulgence to sit in a room and discuss your beliefs as if they were a juicy piece of gossip... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN One man's theology is another man's belly laugh. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Never worry about theory as long as the machinery does what it's supposed to do. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Women will forgive anything. Otherwise, the race would have died out long ago ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afte... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN How you behave toward cats here below determines your status in Heaven. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The more you love, the more you can love--and the more intensely you love. Nor is there any limit on... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN People usually believe anything that they are told early and often. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. An equally lo... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Beds do not matter, it is who is in a bed that counts. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN They didn't want it good, they wanted it Wednesday. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Don't ever become a pessimist, Ira; a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN His older self had taught his younger self a language which the older self knew because the younger ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I don't see how an article of clothing can be indecent. A person, yes. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN It's an indulgence to sit in a room and discuss your beliefs as if they were a juicy piece of go... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from i... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Elephants aren't human but they are very nice people. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN If you disturb the patient at such times, he may break into tears or become violent. and, if you sha... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Since when was an emotional argument won by logic? ROBERT A. HEINLEIN In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a de... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN No woman ever ages beyond eighteen in her heart. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN There were many, many times thereafter that Don regretted having enlisted - but so has every man who... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN He never once repeated himself and he never used either profanity or obscenity. (I learned later tha... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The America of my time line is a laboratory example of what can happen to democracies, what has even... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Any government will work if authority and responsibility are equal and coordinate. This does not ins... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Secrecy is the keystone to all tyranny. Not force, but secrecy and censorship. When any government o... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Yield to temptation...it may not pass your way again! ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Long human words (the longer the better) were easy, unmistakable, and rarely changed their meanings ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man b... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Liberty is never unalienable; it must be redeemed regularly with the blood of patriots or it always ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN That God is in truth the sort of bloodthirsty paranoid Who would rend to bits forty-two children for... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN To be matter of fact about the world is to blunder into fantasy -- and dull fantasy at that, as the ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Being right too soon is socially unacceptable. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Of all the strange "crimes" that human beings have legislated of nothing, "blasphemy" is the most am... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. (Hurtin... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A great artist can look at an old woman, portray her exactly as she is... and force the viewer to se... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Under what circumstances is it moral for a group to do that which is not moral for a member of that ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Stupidity cannot be cured. Stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death. The... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Anything which is physically possible can always be made financially possible; money is a bugaboo of... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN One man’s “magic” is another man’s engineering. “Supernatural” is a null word. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I woke up in bed with a man and a cat. The man was a stranger; the cat was not ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A community where everyone is a ruthless murderer, with handy access to death-dealing devices, is a ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Every general prohibition creates its bootleggers. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Heroism' often consists in keeping your head in an emergency and doing the best you can with what yo... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. (Hurtin... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Everybody lies about sex. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The correct way to punctuate a sentence that states: "Of course it is none of my business, but -- " ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Work is not an end in itself; there must always be time enough for love. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Never tease an old dog; he might have one bite left. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Take big bites. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Animals can be driven crazy by placing too many in too small a pen. Homo sapiens is the only animal ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Cheops' Law: Nothing ever gets built on schedule or within budget. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Certainly the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you; if you don't bet you can't win. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I came, I saw, she conquered." The original Latin seems to have been garbled. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and no measures you ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Live and learn, or you don't live long. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Be wary of strong drink, it can make you shoot at the tax collector...and miss. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN A generation which ignores history has no past — and no future. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Delusions are often functional. A mother's opinions about her children's beauty, intelligence, goodn... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN There is no such thing as "Just a cat. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Customs tell a man who he is, where he belongs, what he must do. Better illogical customs than none;... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Find out what you want to do, then do it. Never talk yourself into doing something you don’t want.... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Television leaves no external scars. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Some people insist that ‘mediocre’ is better than ‘best.’ They delight in clipping wings bec... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Dress yourself in heavy fishing waders, put on an overcoat and boxing gloves and a bucket over your ... ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Library science was the foundation of all sciences. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN You can't believe what a lovely planet we have until you see her from outside. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN The Mother Thing makes our world. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Everybody else specializes. Daddy knows everything, and he puts the pieces together. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN More depended on the student than on the school. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN Mother had the social restraint of an ambassador. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN I needed a space suit the way a pig needs a pipe organ. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN