Ayn Rand Quotes — Page 27

Philosopher, Novelist

Courageous

“Compromise does not satisfy, but dissatisfies everybody; it does not lead to any general fulfillment, but to general frustration; those who try to become everything to all people end up by not being anything to anyone.”

People Trying Frustration

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Ayn Rand

Philosopher, Novelist

Rebellious

“If, before undertaking some action, you must obtain the permission of society-you are not free, whether such permission is granted to you or not. Only a slave acts on permission. A permission is not a right.”

Action Slave Granted

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Regretful

“Altruism does not mean mere kindness or generosity, but the sacrifice of the best among men to the worst, the sacrifice of virtues to flaws, of ability to incompetence, of progress to stagnation-and the subordinating of all life and of all values to the claims of anyone's suffering.”

Mean Sacrifice Kindness

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Angry

“The purpose of the law is not to prevent a future offense, but to punish the one actually committed.”

Law Purpose Committed

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Confident

“Independence is the only gauge of human virtue and value. What a man is and makes of himself; not what he has or hasn’t done for others. There is no substitute for personal dignity.”

Men Independence Gauges

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Optimistic

“There is no hope for the world unless and until we formulate, accept and state publicly a true moral code of individualism, based on man's inalienable right to live for himself. Neither to hurt nor to serve his brothers, but to be independent of them in his function and in his motive. Neither to sacrifice them for himself nor to sacrifice himself for them.”

Hurt Brother Independent

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Philosophical

“We have only two sources of information about the character of the people around us: we judge them by what they do and by what they say (particularly the first).”

People Two Character

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Philosophical

“Whenever destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for money is men's protection and the base of a moral existence. Destroyers seize gold and leave to its owners a counterfeit pile of paper. This kills all objective standards and delivers men into the arbitrary power of an arbitrary setter of values. Gold was an objective value, an equivalent of wealth produced. Paper is a mortgage on wealth that does not exist, backed by a gun aimed at those who are expected to produce it.”

Men Political Gun

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Philosophical

“"Judge not, that ye be not judge"... is an abdication of moral responsibility: it is a moral blank check one gives to others in exchange for a moral blank check one expects for oneself. There is no escape from the fact that men have to make choices; so long as men have to make choices, there is no escape from moral values; so long as moral values are at stake, no moral neutrality is possible. To abstain from condemning a torturer, is to become an accesory to the torture and murder of his victims. The moral principle to adopt... is: "Judge, and be prepared to be judged."”

Men Responsibility Fear

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Confident

“You don't have to see through the eyes of others, hold onto yours, stand on your own judgment, you know that what is, is–say it aloud, like the holiest of prayers, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Eye Prayer Knowing

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Philosophical

“Truth is the recognition of reality; reason, man's only means of knowledge, is his only standard of truth.”

Mean Truth Knowledge

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Motivated

“I don't build in order to have clients. I have clients in order to build.”

Order Badass Bad Ass

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