Ayn Rand Quotations (why you like them; source)

[Ilyn]

Individual rights is the only proper principle of human coexistence, because it rests on man’s nature, i.e., the nature and requirements of a conceptual consciousness. Man gains enormous values from dealing with other men; living in a human society is his proper way of life — but only on certain conditions. Man is not a lone wolf and he is not a social animal. He is a contractual animal. He has to plan his life long-range, make his own choices, and deal with other men by voluntary agreement (and he has to be able to rely on their observance of the agreements they entered).

- “A Nation’s Unity,” The Ayn Rand Letter, II, 2, 3

[Ilyn]

I will ask you to project the look on a child’s face when he grasps the answer to some problem he has been striving to understand. It is a radiant look of joy, of liberation, almost of triumph, which is unself-conscious, yet self-assertive, and its radiance seems to spread in two directions: outward, as an illumination of the world—inward, as the first spark of what is to become the fire of an earned pride. If you have seen this look, or experienced it, you know that if there is such a concept as “sacred”—meaning: the best, the highest possible to man—this look is the sacred, the not-to-be-betrayed, the not-to-be-sacrificed for anything or anyone.

- “Requiem for Man,” Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, 303

[Reggia]

"We preferred some work and some lessons to the others. We did not listen well to the history of all the Councils elected since the Great Rebirth. But we loved the Science of Things. We wished to know. We wished to know about all the things which make the earth around us. We asked so many questions that the Teachers forbade it"

-Anthem

[Reggia]

" Strange are the ways of evil. We are false in the faces of our brothers. We are defying the will of our Councils. We alone, of the thousands who walk this earth, we alone in this hour are doing a work which has no purpose save that we wish to do it. The evil of our crime is not for the human mind to probe. The nature of our punishment, if it be discovered, is not for the human heart to ponder. Never, not in the memory of the Ancient Ones' Ancients, never have men done that which we are doing.

And yet there is no shame in us and no regret. We say to ourselves that we are a wretch and a traitor. But we feel no burden upon our spirit and no fear in our heart. And it seems to us that our spirit is clear as a lake troubled by no eyes save those of the sun. And in our heart --strange are the ways of evil!-- in our heart there is the first peace we have known in twenty years."

-Anthem (This one was a little further along in the book when the protagonist finally succumbs to this desire to learn.)

[Reggia]

"And as we all undress at night, in the dim light of the candles, our brothers are silent, for they dare not speak the thoughts of their minds. For all must agree with all, and they cannot know if their thoughts are the thoughts of all, and so they fear to speak."

-Anthem

[Reggia]

At first, man was enslaved by the gods. But he broke their chains. Then he was enslaved by the kings. But he broke their chains. He was enslaved by his birth, by his kin, by his race. But he broke their chains. He declared to all his brothers that a man has rights which neither god nor king nor other men can take away from him, no matter what their number, for his is the right of man, and there is no right on earth above this right. And he stood on the threshold of the freedom for which the blood of the centuries behind him had been spilled.

But then he gave up all he had won, and fell lower than his savage beginning.

What brought it to pass? What disaster took their reason away from men? What whip lashed them to their knees in shame and submission? The worship of the word "We."

-Anthem

[Ilyn]

"The word "We" is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which the weak steal the might of the strong, by which the fools steal the wisdom of the sages.

What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and impotent, are my masters? What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and to obey?

But I am done with this creed of corruption.

I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame.

And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride.

This god, this one word:

"I."

— Ayn Rand (Anthem)

[Ilyn]

Hello Gina. Thanks for joining us. Happy New Year.

[Ilyn]

Honor is self-esteem made visible in action - Ayn Rand.

[Ilyn]

Hello Prasad. Thank you.

[Stephen]

Prasad wrote: "Atlas shrugged:

Eugene Lawson: I can proudly say that in all of my life, I have never made a profit.
Dagny Taggart: Mr.Lawson, I think I should let you know that of all the statements a man can..."

"Proudly".....?

Am I missing something?

Stephen H. Turner
The Last Voyage of the Cassiopeia
Almagest The Adventures of MarsShield
3700
The Avedon Question

[Ilyn]

Dagny is the heroine in Atlas Shrugged. She considers Lawson's statement as the most despicable a man can make.

[Stephen]

Ilyn wrote: "Dagny is the heroine in Atlas Shrugged. She considers Lawson's statement as the most despicable a man can make."


LOL! I would tend to agree! ;-)

Steve

[Ilyn]

"I read a novel for the purpose of seeing the kind of people I would want to see in real life and living through the kind of experience I would want to live through."

- Ayn Rand

[Ilyn]

"All writers have to rely on inspiration. But you have to know where it comes from, why it happens, and how to make it happen to you."

- Ayn Rand

[Alma]

I agree with Ayn Rand. When I read a book, I just can't stop hoping that the things that I like in the story are real. And yes, inspirations should be anchored on something solid that can be concretized.

[Ilyn]

Hi Alma! Have a marvelous week.

[Ilyn]

"Have confidence in your own judgment; don't give undue deference to the opinions and feelings of others." - Ayn Rand

[Anu]

Sunday, you may also want to check www.aynrand.org and learn more about Ayn Rand, her books and ideas.