Quotes from Robert A. Heinlein

Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy.

The shamans are forever yacking about their snake-oil "miracles." I prefer the Real McCoy - a pregnant woman.

A touchstone to determine the actual worth of an "intellectual" - find out how he feels about astrology.

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once.

The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science requires reasoning while those other subjects merely require scholarship.

Nursing does not diminish the beauty of a woman's breasts; it enhances their charm by making them look lived in and happy.

Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is not a sin — just stupid.)

Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something.

Sex should be friendly. Otherwise stick to mechanical toys; it's more sanitary.

They didn't want it good, they wanted it Wednesday.

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

The universe never did make sense I suspect it was built on government contract.

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.

A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. An equally long life of decent living and good works followed by one outburst of taking the name of the Lord in vain — then have a heart attack at that moment and be damned for eternity. Is that the system?

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.

I don't see how an article of clothing can be indecent. A person, yes.

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.

A "critic" is a man who creates nothing ...

A fool cannot be protected from his folly. If you attempt to do so, you will not only arouse his animosity but also you will be attempting to deprive him of whatever benefit he is capable of deriving from experience. Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

A pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun - and neither can stop the march of events.

A poet that reads his verse in public may have other nasty habits.

Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it.

Learning isn't a means to an end; it is an end in itself.

Limiting the freedom of news 'just a little bit' is in the same category within the classic example 'a little bit pregnant.'