Ayn Rand Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Ayn Rand quotes, Ayn Rand sayings, and Ayn Rand proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

Upper classes are a nation's past; the middle class is its future. Ayn Rand
Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it. Do not count on them. Leave them alone. Ayn Rand
He is free to evade reality, he is free to unfocus his mind and stumble blindly down any road he pleases, but not free to avoid the abyss he refuses to see. Ayn Rand
There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil. Ayn Rand
Capitalism and altruism are incompatible; they are philosophical opposites; they cannot co-exist in the same man or in the same society. Ayn Rand
Altruism declares that any action taken for the benefit of others is good, and any action taken for one's own benefit is evil. Thus the beneficiary of an action is the only criterion of moral value - and so long as that beneficiary is anybody other than oneself, anything goes. Ayn Rand
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. Ayn Rand
Questions give us no rest. We know not why our curse makes us seek we know not what, ever and ever. But we cannot resist it. It whispers to us that there are great things on this earth of ours, and that we must know them. Ayn Rand
People create their own questions because they are afraid to look straight. All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don't sit looking at it - walk. Ayn Rand
Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice. Ayn Rand
Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others. Ayn Rand
All depressions are caused by government interference and the cure is always offered to take more of the poison that caused the disaster. Depressions are not the result of a free economy. Ayn Rand
Morality pertains only to the sphere of man's free will - only to those actions which are open to his choice. Ayn Rand
Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. Ayn Rand
Live a life as a monument to your soul. Ayn Rand
Integrity is the ability to stand by an idea Ayn Rand
There is no affirmation without the one who affirms. in this sense, everything to which you grant your love is yours. Ayn Rand
The worst guilt is to accept an unearned guilt. Ayn Rand
For the first time since her return, she felt pain, a violent pain, but it made her feel alive, because it was worth feeling. Ayn Rand
The men who are not interested in philosophy need it most urgently; they are most helplessly in its power. Ayn Rand
There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all. Ayn Rand
If there is any one proof of a man's incompetence, it is the stagnant mentality of a worker who, doing some small routine job in a vast undertaking, does not care to look beyond the lever of a machine, does not choose to know how the machine got there or what makes his job possible, and proclaims that the management of the undertaking is parasitical and unnecessary. Ayn Rand
The evaluation of an action as 'practical,' depends on what it is that one wishes to practice. Ayn Rand
We have come to see how great is the unexplored. Ayn Rand
Upper classes are a nation's past; the middle class is its future. Ayn Rand
To love a woman for her virtues is meaningless. She's earned it, it's a payment, not a gift. But to love her for her vices is a real gift, unearned and undeserved. To love her for her vices is to defile all virtue for her sake - and that is a real tribute of love, because you sacrifice your conscience, your reason, your integrity and your invaluable self-esteem. Ayn Rand
Whether you know the shape of the pebble or the structure of a solar system, the anxioms remain the same: that it exists and that you know it. Ayn Rand
He had a big head and a face so ugly it became almost fascinating. Ayn Rand
A rational process is a moral process. Ayn Rand
If you want to feel good, be rational. Ayn Rand