I never learned from a man who agreed with me.

Hit it! You have to hit it harder than that. Electrons are timid little things but notional; you have to let them know who’s boss.

A fake fortuneteller can be tolerated. But an authentic soothsayer should be shot on sight. Cassandra did not get half the kicking around she deserved.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

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.

Being sorry won't get you into heaven. Get happy, son. Get that old spring into your step and stay on your toes.

The Earth is just too small and fragile a basket for the human race to keep all its eggs in.