"“It’s a nitwit idea.” “Yes, sir.” “Nitwit ideas are for emergencies. You use them when you’ve got nothing else to try. If they work, they go in the Book. Otherwise you follow the Book, which is largely a collection of nitwit ideas that worked.”"

"“Perhaps I was expecting too much.” “Perhaps. We’re all waiting as fast as we can.”"

"Species evolve to meet the environment. An intelligent species changes the environment to suit itself. As soon as a species becomes intelligent, it should stop evolving."

"Rod privately suspected the Scots studied their speech off duty so they’d be unintelligible to the rest of humanity."

"And the air was full of the smell of burning bridges."

"What’s the justification for ancestor worship? You know what happens to a man without modern geriatrics: as he ages his brain cells start to die. Yet people tend to respect him, to listen to him."

"“How did you come to represent the belt?” “Aptitude tests said I had a high IQ and liked ordering people around. From there I worked my way up.” “We go by the vote.” “Popularity contests.” “It works. But it does have drawbacks. What government doesn’t?”"

"“For letting us examine their silly records they want to charge us a flat million marks!” “Pay it.” “It’s robbery.” “A Belter says that? Why don’t you have records on Mars?” “We were never interested. What for?” “What about abstract knowledge?” “Another word for useless.” “Then what makes you want useless knowledge enough to pay a million marks for it?” Slowly Nick matched his grin. “It’s still robbery. How in Finagle’s name did Earth know they’d need to know about Mars?” “That’s the secret of abstract knowledge. You get in the habit of finding out everything you can about everything. Most of it gets used sooner or later.”"

"The Perversity of the Universe Tends Toward a Maximum."

"I’m being chauvinistic, he told himself. I can’t judge an alien’s sanity by Belt standards, can I? His lip curled. Sure I can. That ship is badly designed."

"Brennan was an optimist. He didn’t expect to be caught."

"The stars are far from eternal, but for man they might as well be."

"Sometimes there’s no point in giving up."

"There is never no hope left. Remember."

"Forget the infinities: Concentrate on detail."

"We learn only to ask more questions."

"Tell them the universe is too complicated a toy for a sensibly cautious being to play with."

"The majority is always sane."

"Seen through the glow of a building orgasm, a woman seems to blaze with angelic glory."

"One mark of a good officer, he remembered, was the ability to make quick decisions. If they happen to be right, so much the better."

"The perversity of the universe tends towards a maximum. The universe is hostile."

"To witness titanic events is always dangerous, usually painful, and often fatal."

"The Gods do not protect fools. Fools are protected by more capable fools."

"Fear is the brother of hate."

"Louis knew a few xenophobes, and regarded them as dolts."

"“I don’t doubt you’re serious,” he said wonderingly. “What I doubt is your sanity.”"