“Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.
But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please—this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time—and squawk for more!
So learn to say No—and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.
(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“The most preposterous notion that Homo sapiens has ever dreamed up is that the Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of all the Universes, wants the saccharine adoration of His creatures, can be swayed by their prayers, and becomes petulant if He does not receive this flattery. Yet this absurd fantasy, without a shred of evidence to bolster it, pays all the expenses of the oldest, largest, and least productive industry in all history.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Delusions are often functional. A mother's opinions about her children's beauty, intelligence, goodness, et cetera ad nauseam, keep her from drowning them at birth.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“A generation which ignores history has no past — and no future.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Be wary of strong drink, it can make you shoot at the tax collector...and miss.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Live and learn, or you don't live long.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“A woman is not property, and husbands who think otherwise are living in a dreamworld.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and no measures you want to vote for ... but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“I came, I saw, she conquered."
The original Latin seems to have been garbled.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Certainly the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you; if you don't bet you can't win.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Cheops' Law: Nothing ever gets built on schedule or within budget.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Take big bites. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Animals can be driven crazy by placing too many in too small a pen. Homo sapiens is the only animal that voluntarily does this to himself.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Courage is the complement of fear. A man who is fearless cannot be courageous. [He is also a fool.]”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Never tease an old dog; he might have one bite left.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Work is not an end in itself; there must always be time enough for love.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“There is no conclusive evidence of life after death, but there is no evidence of any sort against it. Soon enough you will know, so why fret about it?”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“The correct way to punctuate a sentence that states: "Of course it is none of my business, but -- " is to place a period after the word "but." Don't use excessive force in supplying such a moron with a period. Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you talked about.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is not sinful -- just stupid.)”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Heroism' often consists in keeping your head in an emergency and doing the best you can with what you have instead of panicking and being shot in the tail. People who fight this way win more battles than do intentional heroes; a glory hound often throws away the lives of his mates as well as his own.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“Every general prohibition creates its bootleggers.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
“A community where everyone is a ruthless murderer, with handy access to death-dealing devices, is a very polite community.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Time Enough for Love
Robert A. Heinlein
Born place: in Butler, MO, The United States
Born date July 7, 1907
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“I believe anyone could light a cigarette from the sparks that fly from your eyes!”
― Enid Blyton, quote from Five on a Treasure Island
“We hug for forever.
The longest hug of my life.
I don’t even care that Ava and T are looking on from the couch. I just like, collapse into his arms.
“There’s a rumor going around,” he whispers.
My heart sinks.
I let go.
I look into his eyes.
“There is?”
“Yeah, I talked to Fisher, and she said--”
Oh! Fisher! Phew!
“You’re heading out.” Teague looks sad.
I look sad.
I am sad.
Teague looks at Ava and back at me.
“If it’s okay with Ava--” He pauses and loops his fingers around mine. “I would love the pleasure of your company for one last night.”
We both turn toward Ava like two love-starved teenagers.
Wait, we are love-starved teenagers!
“Ava?” I ask in my sweetest pretty-please voice.
She rolls her eyes and rests her head on T’s shoulder.
“Do you think I’m the Grinch who stole Christmas? Of course you can go!”
“I can?”
“You can,” she says, amused by my excitement.
There is a lot of love in this room.
A lot of love.
Teague’s not done.
“Um.” He looks at Ava. “If Emily would like to, and it’s okay with you--” He squeezes my hand. “I was thinking we could stay out at my cabin.”
My eyes pop out of my head.
My jaw drops.
My eyebrows arch.
“Say what!” T looks up from his book.
But Ava turns to him and says something in his ear. Then, in what can only be explained as a true Christmas miracle, she looks back at me.
“Okay,” she says, gleaming back at us.
“It’s okay with me.”
― Megan Shull, quote from Amazing Grace
“It is possible to live happily in the here and now. So many conditions of happiness are available—more than enough for you to be happy right now. You don't have to run into the future in order to get more.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, quote from Being Peace
“I cannot stress enough the perils of your friends marrying or becoming court inventors. One day you are all a society of outlaws, adventurous comrades and companions who will be pushing off somewhere or other when things become tiresome; you have all the world to choose from, just by looking at the map… And then, suddenly, they’re not interested any more. They want to keep warm. They’re afraid of rain. They start collecting big things that can’t fit in a rucksack. They talk only of small things. They don’t like to make sudden decisions and do something contrariwise. Formerly they hoisted sail; now they carpenter little shelves for porcelain mugs.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominpappa's Memoirs
“The Philosopher, too, says of the wicked (Ethic. ix, 4) that "their soul is divided against itself . . . one part pulls this way, another that"; and afterwards he concludes, saying: "If wickedness makes a man so miserable, he should strain every nerve to avoid vice.”
― Thomas Aquinas, quote from Summa Theologica, 5 Vols
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