Where is this Heinlein quote from? If from one of his books, anyone know which one?


"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."

Thanks,
echo6

As I recall, that's 'Lazarus Long' speaking, in Time Enough for Love: The Lives of Lazarus Long.

probably "Time Enough for Love"

I took that to heart as an impressionable 12 year old and can do almost all of it except conn a ship.  Ships are too smart and I can never get anything past them.

It is from "time"...it was also in "the collected sayings of L.Long"
Here are some more...[url]http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/dreamweaver/quotes/qtlazheresy.html[/url]

And, of course, you know, "An armed society is a polite society."

In his last book he had a long discourse on the BS he put up with from publishers and little old gray-haired librarians over his young protagonists carrying firearms on the moon, in some of his books (Moon is a Harsh Mistress, etc).  

Robert was very pro-freedom, and as such, thought every man should be armed... AND proficient.  

"Avoid strong drink. It can make you shoot at revenooers. And miss...."

Scott

TANSTAAFL

And for those of you that aren't Heinlein afficianados, that's

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch."

Also:

"Beware the STOBOR"

One of my more favorite Heinlein books. Maybe our high schools should have similar graduation tests....

Scott

My favorite:

"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. Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything--you can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him." --Robert A. Heinlein from "If This Goes On—" in Revolt in 2100, not "Starship Troopers", as I posted wrongly a few days ago.

And then there's always: "Aside from mathematics, just two things
worth doing - kill a man and love a woman.
He had done both; he was rich."

An armed society is a polite society....

(I forget the less often seen second line....)

Scott

Echo,


Here is a great site for finding famous (and infamous) quotes:

www.brainyquotes.com

"It's appallingly obvious that our technology greatly exceeds our humanity!" Albert Einstein

                                 AZLTD

My favorite Heinlein:
"Never threaten a small man, you'll frighten him, and he'll kill you".

From [i][u]The Notebooks of Lazarus Long[/i][/u]:

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

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?

It's amazing how much "mature wisdom" resembles being too tired.

Of all the strange "crimes" that human beings have legislated out of nothing, "blasphemy" is the most amazing -- with "obscenity" and "indecent exposure" fighting it out for second and third place.

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

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded -- here and there, now and then -- are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck".

Any government will work if authority and responsibility are equal and coordinate. This does not insure "good" government; it simply insures that it will work. But such governments are rare -- most people want to run things but want no part of the blame. This used to be called the "backseat-driver syndrome."

[/b]

Many, many more.  Highly recommended.

This is a little off topic but I have an interesting book in my collection.  I was written in 1980 by H. Bruce Franklin.  It is "Robert A. Heinlein, America as Science Fiction" (230 pages).  It was published by Oxford University Press.

Franklin was (is?) a professor at Rutgers University in NJ.  He specialized in teaching SF as American Literature.

He studied Heinlein as a way of comprehending America moving through the Depression, WWII, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the rebellions of the '60s and a look at the uncertain future.

He provided a detailed study of Heinlein's stories up to "The Number of the Beast".

Very interesting book.  I saw it advertised in Astounding Stories and sent off for a copy.  Franklin is a little left wing and it shows in his analysis but all in all the book is a great composite of Heinlein's work.

Every 8-10 years I go back and re-read a few of Heinlein's books and re-read Franklin's analysis.  It helps to renew my appreciation for a great author.

He was very pro-freedom, but I seem to recall him being a little tough on democracy.  I can't find the quote, but it was something like "If people can vote to give themselves circuses, they will..."