KittenClaws wrote:
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Heinlein reference? I’m suddenly feeling less erudite.
Which story, please?
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Grok, what Piece of Heinlein’s fiction did the phrase “cruel is the bird, cruel are the sons of the bird” come from?
The phrase appears to be a slight misremembering of a line from Robert A.
Heinlein’s 1942 novella The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag. The actual quote is: “In the beginning was The Bird. Wise and cruel was The Bird, and wise and cruel were The Sons of the Bird...” leatherboundtreasure.com
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I notice the word “wise” was left out of the phrase taken from Heinlein’s novella.
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I notice the word “wise” was left out of the phrase taken from Heinlein’s novella.
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I’ve only ever heard this quote here on the Q thread (without the wise), and as grok said, it could be just a slight misremembering.
But, grok isn’t always right, I’d have to read the short story to confirm the answer, but I can’t see myself doing that any time soon.