"Science fiction and fantasy are not something to be enjoyed secretly as a semishanful substitute for reality; they are a glad extension of reality, the addition of still brighter colors to a bright universe.
…
I know many adults, neither pagans nor fools—indeed, intelligent, industrious, responsible men and women—who neverthless enjoy the flexible delight of the youthful mind. Their ability to rejoice in good science fiction and fantasy is the outward sign of this inward blessedness.
Ah me, my friends grow older in body, along with me, for we are all mortal. But if our joints creak, our minds do not; and if our muscles soften, our brains do not; and if our tendons slacken, our imaginations do not."
…
I know many adults, neither pagans nor fools—indeed, intelligent, industrious, responsible men and women—who neverthless enjoy the flexible delight of the youthful mind. Their ability to rejoice in good science fiction and fantasy is the outward sign of this inward blessedness.
Ah me, my friends grow older in body, along with me, for we are all mortal. But if our joints creak, our minds do not; and if our muscles soften, our brains do not; and if our tendons slacken, our imaginations do not."
—
Isaac Asimov, West Newton, Massachussets, Christmas 1965.
From the introduction to Tomorrow Children, edited by Isaac Asimov, Futura Publications Limited, 1977 (third printing).
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