Isaac Asimov: Trending quotes (page 15)

“Private profit is often hidden under a careful coating of great patriotism.”

Isaac Asimov

The Roman Republic (1966), p. 128
General sources

“It is the nature of science that answers automatically pose new and more subtle questions.”

Isaac Asimov

The Wellsprings of Life (1960), p. 141
General sources

Question , Science , Nature

“Predicting the future is a hopeless, thankless task, with ridicule to begin with and, all too often, scorn to end with.”

Isaac Asimov

"The World of 1990" in The Diners' Club Magazine, January 1965
General sources

Future

“The stars, like dust, encircle me
In living mists of light;
And all of space I seem to see
In one vast burst of sight.”

Isaac Asimov

Source: Empire novels (1950–1952), The Stars, Like Dust (1951), Chapter 3 “Chance and the Wrist Watch” (p. 30)

Light , Star

“Truth is a discredited commodity among diplomats.”

Isaac Asimov book The Currents of Space

Source: Empire novels (1950–1952), The Currents of Space (1952), Chapter 6 “The Ambassador” (p. 64)

Truth

“No matter how outrageous a lie may be, it will be accepted if stated loudly enough and often enough.”

Isaac Asimov

The Near East (1968), p. 31
General sources

Lie

“Ideas are cheap. It's only what you do with them that counts.”

Isaac Asimov

"The Secrets of the Universe" (1989) (essay reprinted in The Secret of the Universe (1992), p. 167)
General sources

Idea

“It is surely better to be wronged than to do wrong.”

Isaac Asimov book In Memory Yet Green

In Memory Yet Green (1979), p. 175
General sources

“Scientific writing is abhorrently stylized and places a premium on poor quality.”

Isaac Asimov book Buy Jupiter and Other Stories

Buy Jupiter and Other Stories (1975), p. 82
General sources

“There is a kind of selective memory that afflicts men when they view the past. They see the good and overlook the evil.”

Isaac Asimov

Source: The Roman Empire (1967), p. 191

Past , Affliction , Memory , Evil

“It seems to be almost an invariable rule that as real power declines, the symbols of power multiply and intensify in compensation.”

Isaac Asimov

Source: The Roman Empire (1967), p. 176

“Ten years on the moon could tell us more about the universe than a thousand years on the earth might be able to.”

Isaac Asimov

What Can We Expect of the Moon?" in The American Legion Magazine, March 1965
General sources

Universe

“This - this - was my life's work. My past - humanity's future. Foundation. So beatiful. So alive. And nothing can...Dors!”

Isaac Asimov book Forward the Foundation

The Foundation series (1951–1993), Forward the Foundation (1993)
Source: Part 5 "Epilogue", Hari Seldon's last words

Past , Future , Life

“Old memories - really old - are almost all in the mountain roots where it takes time to dig them out.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation and Earth

The Foundation series (1951–1993), Foundation and Earth (1986)
Source: Part 1 "Gaia", Chapter 1 "The Search Begins" section 4, p. 19

Time , Mountain , Memory

“To us, all life is a series of accidents to be met with improvisations. To them, all life is purposive and should be met with precalculation.”