Eric Frank Russell
Eric Frank Russell
Eric Frank Russell was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. Much of his work was first published in the United States, in John W. Campbell's Astounding Science Fiction and other pulp magazines. Russell also wrote horror fiction for Weird Tales and non-fiction articles on Fortean topics. Up to 1955 several of his stories were published under pseudonyms, incl
"Well, that is a valuable addition to the sum total of our knowledge. Our minds are now enriched by the thought that an anonymous individual may be presented with a futile object for an indefinable purpose when he reaches his unknown destination."
"Time—the older you get the faster it goes."
"“I was thinking,” Harrison explained. “I approve of that,” put in His Excellency. He lugged a couple of huge tomes our of the wall-shelves, began to thumb rapidly through them. “Do plenty of thinking whenever you’ve the chance and it will become a habit. It will get easier and easier as time rolls on. In fact, a day may come when it can be done without pain.”"
"Any chance of accidentally dropping our cargo of bureaucrats overboard on the way back? A misfortune like that might benefit the spaceways, if not humanity."
"“Anyway, one soon loses appreciation of the value of something gained for nothing, one becomes bored by getting it for the mere asking.” “I don’t,” assured Zalumar. “I like it, I love it.” “Every day I see windows full of gold watches,” said Lakin. “They tire me. I have a gold watch which I obtained by demanding it. I don’t want fifty gold watches. I don’t even want two of them. So what use are all the others to me?”"
"Appearances aren’t always what they seem."
"Fander tried to explain the alien in non-alien terms. It proved impossible."
"I give up. I cannot argue with someone who casts aside the accepted rules of logic and invents ones of his own."
"One cannot analogize the non-existent."
"The reaction showed that the audience had never encountered this argument before or concocted anything like it of their own accord. None were stupid enough to accept it as serious assertion of fact. All were sufficiently intelligent to recognize it as logical or pseudo-logical denial of something self-evident and demonstrably true."
"“From what I have heard, from all that I have been told, I deduce a basic rule applying to lifeforms deemed intelligent.”… “And what is this rule?” “That the governing body of any lifeforms such as ours will be composed of power-lovers rather than of specialists.” “Well, isn’t it?” “Unfortunately, it is. Government falls into the hands of those who desire authority and escapes those with other interests.” He paused, went on. “That is not to say that those who govern us are stupid. They are quite clever in their own particular field of mass-organization. But by the same token they are pathetically ignorant of other fields.”"
"“What’s the matter with you? Got a bellyache or something?” “No, sir. I’ve been thinking.” “Does it hurt that much?”"
