"The gods do not protect fools. Fools are protected by more capable fools.”
“How much intelligence does it take to sneak up on a leaf?”
“For two hundred and fifty years the kzinti had not attacked human space. They had nothing to attack with. For two hundred and fifty years men had not attacked the kzinti worlds; and no kzin could understand it. Men confused them terribly.”
All from Larry Niven.
No. Heinlein was quoting Mark Twain.
And, for the great Quote that set all this in motion:
“It’s a dangerous business, going out your front door.”
“The vorpal blade went snicker-snack”
“The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed”
Classic ones. But they can be witty, too.
Short and punchy, too, if it can be done. Something the viewer can take it quickly.
Cite? In fact, most of the sources I’ve seen note that the quote is often attributed to Twain, but that the only known print source is Heinlein’s “The Man Who Sold the Moon." p. 188, if my sources are correct.
“Beam me up” is a classic.
“I have no mouth. And I must scream.”
“‘Repent, Harlequin!’ said the TickTockMan.”
“The future is all around us, waiting in moments of transition to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of the future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain.” --Babylon 5
Classics:
“May the Force be with you.” -duh!
“You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!” -Planet of the Apes
“Gentleman, we can rebuild him. We have the technology.” -Six Million Dollar Man
“Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” -The Incredible Hulk
“Dodge this.” Or, “Wake up Neo. The Matrix has you.” -The Matrix
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!” -Lost
“There’s a man on the wing of this plane!” -The Twilight Zone
“Last night, Darth Vader came down from the planet Vulcan and told me that if I didn’t ask out Loraine, he’d melt my brain!” -Back to the Future
“Open the pod bay doors, Hal.”
Much as I love Delenn, she was quoting Carl Sagan. Who may have been quoting someone else.
“You will do it because I ask you to. Because you value the good of our people above your own personal ambition. And because I have poisoned your drink.” Londo Mollari. Babylon 5.
“A zygote is a gamete’s way of making another gamete. This may be the purpose of the Universe.” Heinlein, Time Enough for Love.
[Why nobody knows much about wizard’s duels] “The winner is not giving away any secrets. The loser is dead, at least.” Larry Niven, "What Good is a Glass Dagger?’
“Normal? There’s a word with no meaning! Every human being who ever lived, from Jojo the caveman down to the culmination of civilization, namely me, was as eccentric as a pet coon once you caught him with his mask off!” Heinlein, The Rolling Stones.
“Precedence . . . is the assumption that someone else, in the past with less information, nevertheless knows better than the man on the spot. Tradition means doing things in the same grand style as your predecessors. It does not mean doing the same things.” Heinlein, Space Cadet.
[After killing a bad guy named Melkin] “In the mirrors of many judgements, my hands are the color of blood. I sometimes fancy myself an evil that exists to fight other evils. I destroy Melkins when I find them, and on that day of which the prophets speak, but in which they do not truly believe, when the world is completely cleansed of all evil, then I, too, will go down into darkness, swallowing curses. But until that day, I will not wash my hands, nor let them stand idle.” Roger Zelazny, The Guns of Avalon.
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.
OK, these here are the ones that have made the first cut. Apologies to those who gave longer ones but I decided that shorter, choppy ones would suit the project best.
And what do you all think of using multiple lines from individual authors/works?
“Do, or do not. There is no try.”
“My mind is going. I can feel it.”
“Come with me if you want to live.”
“You’re so slick you’d slide out of your own coffin.” - Garret PI series
“Eternity is relentless, Raziel.” - Kain
“There’s no God. No side of the angels. There’s just me.” - Kane
“We’re the law. Scary, isn’t it?” - Hawk & Fisher series
Winter is coming.
“I’ve got bad feeling about this.”
“I find your lack of faith…disturbing.”
“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
“I’d rather kiss a Wookie!”
“I’ll never join you. I am a Jedi, like my Father before me.”
“Use the Force, Luke!”
(Just off the top of my head.)
“And this world’s smartest man means no more to me than does its smartest termite.” - Doctor Manhattan
“Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon.” - Rorschach
“None of you understand. I’m not locked up in here with you. You’re locked up in here with me.” - Rorschach
“We gave you everything you are; and now, we take it back.” - A Hylden
“The Engine. It’s not me. It’s my Engine.” - Felix, Armor.
“The citizens do not need to know what the cost is. They need only to know that the mission has been accomplished.” - a Bolo
“I know that my God is coming back. I’m going to be waiting for Him with a shotgun, and I’m saving the last shell for myself.” - The Fuller Memorandum
“Kharak is Burning…” - Homeworld
In that particular piece of the quote, she was. The rest of the line is slightly different, though very similar in theme. I left out the longer part because I figured Jonathan would want the short version for his purposes.
Regardless of who said it first, it’s a good line.