"Convinced of their destiny to rule, they convinced themselves that the end justified the means."

Robert A. Heinlein Literature See all quotes by Robert A. Heinlein →

React to this quote

More by Robert A. Heinlein

“Matt, you are suffering from a disease of youth—you expect moral problems to have nice, neat, black-and-white answers.”

“Clark just looked bored and contemptuous and said nothing, because Clark would not bother to interfere with Armageddon unless there was ten percent in it for him.”

“Learning isn’t a means to an end; it is an end in itself.”

“I used to wonder what it was like to be rich. Now I am and it turns out to be mostly headaches.”

“He seeks order, not truth. Suppose truth defies order, will he accept it? Will you? I think not.”

“Is it not better to be in ignorance than to believe falsely?”

Resonant Thoughts

"The idea of a wanton woman is something I have inserted into almost all of my books. An outlaw figure who is disallowed in the community because of her imagination or activity or status — that kind of…"

— Toni Morrison

Literature1931–2019

#justice

"If one assumes, however, that the PGA TOUR has some legal obligation to play classic, Platonic golf—and if one assumes the correctness of all the other wrong turns the Court has made to get to this po…"

— Antonin Scalia

Law1936–2016

#justice

"Imagine if you will a ship from a nation not at war with anyone sailing in international waters on a quiet June day being suddenly attacked by unidentified warplanes and torpedo boats, their markings …"

— Philip Giraldi

Military1946

#war

"The old theology had few if any fast colors, and it has become very faded and worn under the fierce light and intense activity of our day. Let it go; it is outgrown and outworn. What mankind will fina…"

— John Burroughs

Science1907–1978

#time