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The first right on earth is the right of the ego. Man’s first duty is to himself. His moral law is never to place his prime goal within the persons of...more

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Now take a human body. Why wouldn't you like to see a human body with a curling tail with a crest of ostrich feathers at the end? And with ears shaped...more

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Roark spoke quietly. He was the only man in the room who felt certain of his own words.

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He’s not really struggling even for material wealth, but for the second-hander’s delusion—prestige. A stamp of approval, not his own. He can find no j...more

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A man’s spirit is his self. That entity which is his consciousness. To think, to feel, to judge, to act are functions of the ego.

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And isn’t that the root of every despicable action? Not selfishness, but precisely the absence of a self. Look at them. The man who cheats and lies, b...more

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He knew, while he spoke, that it was useless, because his words sounded as if they were hitting a vacuum. There was no such person as Mrs. Wayne Wilmo...more

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If you want my advice, Peter,” he said at last, “you’ve made a mistake already. By asking me. By asking anyone. Never ask people. Not about your work....more

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I want to sleep with you. Now, tonight, and at any time you may care to call me. I want your naked body, your skin. your mouth, your hands...I want yo...more

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In all proper relationships there is no sacrifice of anyone to anyone... Men exchange their work by free, mutual consent to mutual advantage when thei...more

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Men have been taught that the ego is the synonym of evil, and selflessness the ideal of virtue. But the creator is the egotist in the absolute sense, ...more

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Don’t you know that most people take most things because that’s what’s given them, and they have no opinion whatever? Do you wish to be guided by what...more

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Keating felt naked...People were his protection against people. Roark had no sense of people. Others gave Keating a feeling of his own value. Roark ga...more

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What would happen to the world without those who do, think, work, produce? Those are the egotists. You don’t think through another’s brain and you don...more

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[Howard Roark] was asked for a statement, and he received a group of reporters in his office. He spoke without anger. He said:'I can't tell anyone any...more