Robert A. Heinlein

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

To be matter-of-fact about the world is to blunder into fantasy - and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful.

Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss.

The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive.

Never worry about theory as long as the machinery does what it's supposed to do.

Being right too soon is socially unacceptable.

There is no way that writers can be tamed and rendered civilized or even cured. The only solution known to science is to provide the patient with an isolation room, where he can endure the acute stages in private and where food can be poked in to him with a stick.

Theology is never any help; it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn't there. Theologians can persuade themselves of anything.

No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.

By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity.

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.

One man's theology is another man's belly laugh.

One man's 'magic' is another man's engineering. 'Supernatural' is a null word.

One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others.

Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat.

For me, politeness is a sine qua non of civilization.

It's an indulgence to sit in a room and discuss your beliefs as if they were a juicy piece of gossip.

Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.

Never insult anyone by accident.

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