Quotes from book
Foundation

Name: Foundation
Author: Isaac Asimov

Foundation is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov. It is the first published in his Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a cycle of five interrelated short stories, first published as a single book by Gnome Press in 1951. Collectively they tell the early story of the Foundation, an institute founded by psychohistorian Hari Seldon to preserve the best of galactic civilization after the collapse of the Galactic Empire.

“It has been my philosophy of life that difficulties vanish when faced boldly”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Variant: It has been my philosophy of life that difficulties vanish when faced boldly.
Source: Foundation

“It is the chief characteristic of the religion of science that it works.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Variant: It is remarkable, Hardin, how the religion of science has grabbed hold.
Source: Foundation

“It was childish to feel disappointed, but childishness comes almost as naturally to a man as to a child.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Source: Foundation

“If you're born in a cubicle and grow up in a corridor, and work in a cell, and vacation in a crowded sun-room, then coming up into the open with nothing but sky over you might just give you a nervous breakdown.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Source: Foundation

“A fire eater must eat fire even if he has to kindle it himself.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Foundation (1951), Part III, The Mayors, section 9

“I wanted to be a psychological engineer, but we lacked the facilities, so I did the next best thing - I went into politics. It's practically the same thing.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Source: Foundation

“To succeed, planning alone is insufficient. One must improvise as well.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Part V, The Merchant Princes, section 3
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Foundation (1951)

“Now any dogma, based primarily on faith and emotionalism, is a dangerous weapon to use on others, since it is almost impossible to guarantee that the weapon will never be turned on the user.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Part V, The Merchant Princes, section 13
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Foundation (1951)

“It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Part III, The Mayors, section 2
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Foundation (1951)

“Violence,” came the retort, “is the last refuge of the incompetent.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Variant: Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Source: Part II, The Encyclopedists, section 5; This also appears three times in "Bridle and Saddle" which is titled "The Mayors" within Foundation. It is derived from the famous phrase by Samuel Johnson: "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" and from the words of Lady Anne Bellamy in H. Rider Haggard's Dawn, “I do not believe in violence; it is the last resource of fools.” Asimov is usually quoted simply with "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."

“Weak emperors mean strong viceroys.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Source: Foundation

“Any fool can tell a crisis when it arrives. The real service to the state is to detect it in embryo.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Source: Foundation

“Q. You do not consider your statement a disloyal one?
A. No, sir. Scientific truth is beyond loyalty and disloyalty.
Q. You are sure that your statement represents scientific truth?
A. I am.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Part I, The Psychohistorians, section 6
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Foundation (1951)

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”

Isaac Asimov book Foundation

Part IV, The Traders, section 1; originally published as “The Wedge” in Astounding (October 1944)
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Foundation (1951)