A brute kills for pleasure. A fool kills from hate.
Robert Heinlein
- Life
- 1907-1988
- Occupations
- writer, screenwriter, literary critic
- Notable works
- Farnham's Freehold, Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land
Facts: Wikidata (CC0), as of 2026-07-09
A committee is a lifeform with six or more legs and no brain.
Robert Heinlein
A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.
Robert Heinlein
A fake fortune teller can be tolerated. But an authentic soothsayer should be shot on sight. Cassandra did not get half the kicking around she deserved.
Robert Heinlein
A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.
Robert Heinlein
Always listen to experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done, and why. Then do it.
Robert Heinlein
Always tell her she is beautiful, especially if she is not.
Robert Heinlein
An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.
Robert Heinlein
A poet who reads his verse in public may have other nasty habits.
Robert Heinlein
A woman is not property, and husbands who think otherwise are living in a dreamworld.
Robert Heinlein
Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors, and miss.
Robert Heinlein
Certainly the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you; if you don’t bet you can’t win.
Robert Heinlein
Delusions are often functional. A mother’s opinions about her children’s beauty, intelligence, goodness, et cetera ad nauseum, keep her from drowning them at birth.
Robert Heinlein
Get a shot off fast. This upsets him long enough to let you make your second shot perfect.
Robert Heinlein
Little girls, like butterflies, need no excuse.
Robert Heinlein
Money is a powerful aphrodisiac. But flowers work almost as well.
Robert Heinlein
Never try to out stubborn a cat.
Robert Heinlein
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.
Robert Heinlein
One man's theology is another man's belly laugh.
Robert Heinlein
Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.
Robert Heinlein
The more you love, the more you can love and the more intensely you love. Nor is there any limit on how many you can love. If a person had time enough, he could love all of that majority who are decent and just.
Robert Heinlein
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 Heinlein
Tilting at windmills hurts you more than the windmills.
Robert Heinlein
When the ship lifts, all bills are paid. No regrets.
Robert Heinlein
Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.
Robert Heinlein
Yield to temptation; it may not pass your way again.
Robert Heinlein
You live and learn. Or you don’t live long.
Robert Heinlein
Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind, it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate, and quickly.
Robert Heinlein