Robert A. Heinlein Quotes

The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood.

War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.

The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions ... but by iron and blood.

Where words prevail not, violence prevails.

War is the ultimate tool of politics.

War is an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will.

The end of war is to procure by force the justice which cannot otherwise be obtained.

I am too realistic to believe in pacifism. But, nevertheless, the use of force should always be the last resort.

War is about killing on both sides until one side says I will do what you want me to do.

There are only two means by which men can deal with one another: guns or logic. Force or persuasion. Those who know that they cannot win by means of logic, have always resorted to guns.

It’s not only time to It is time not to take force off the table… It is time to put force on the table and use it

Anyone who clings to the historically untrue and thoroughly immoral doctrine that violence never solves anything, I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The Ghost of Hitler could referee, and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force, has settled more disputes in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms.

War is always an option. Peace is not.

The violent have been victorious for most of history because they kindled the fear with which everyone is born.

When [men] go to war, what they want is to impose on their enemies the victor's will and call it peace.

War is the supreme form of prestige.

Armed conflict between nations is a nightmare to me; but if I were convinced that any nation had made up its mind to dominate the world by fear of its force, I should feel that it must be resisted.

If words suffice not, blows must follow.

The Conqueror is always a lover of peace: he would prefer to take over our country unopposed.

What you get with violence can be maintained only with violence

Jane! will you hear reason?' (he stooped and approached his lips to my ear) 'because, if you won't, I'll try violence.

War is about remaking the world to suit the whims of some powerful group over the whims of some other powerful group. The dead are just the sparks that fly from the metal as they grind it down.

Force is not a remedy.

The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun.

War can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun.