To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I.'
Ayn RandRead
Toohey: "Mr. Roark, we're alone here. Why don't you tell me what you think of me? In any words you wish. No one will hear us." Roark: "But I don't think of you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the idea of indifference towards others' opinions and the focus on one's own values.
In this exchange between Toohey and Roark from Ayn Rand's work, Roark's statement reveals his indifference to Toohey's existence and opinions. It emphasizes a philosophical perspective that values individualism, suggesting that one should not be concerned with external validation or the judgments of others, but rather focus on one's own thoughts and principles.
Themes
IndifferenceIndividualismPhilosophyValueSelf
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on personal integrity, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of self-reliance.
More from Ayn Rand
All quotes βThe difference between animals and humans is that animals change themselves for the environment, but humans change the environment for themselves.
Ayn RandRead
It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgement of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.
Ayn RandRead
What is the basic, the essential, the crucial principle that differentiates freedom from slavery? It is the principle of voluntary action versus physical coercion or compulsion.
Ayn RandRead
One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning. Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i.e., the nonliving, the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living.
Ayn RandRead
I think that when in doubt about the truth of an issue, it's safer and in better taste to select the least numerous of the adversaries.
Ayn RandRead
Similar quotes
I say the same of humility and of all the virtues; the wiles of the devil are terrible, he will run a thousand times round hell if by so doing he can make us believe that we have a single virtue which we have not. And he is right, for such ideas are very harmful, and such imaginary virtues, when they come from this source, are never unaccompanied by vainglory; just as those which God gives are free both from this and from pride.
Teresa Of AvilaRead
Essential characteristics of a gentleman: The will to put himself in the place of others; the horror of forcing others into positions from which he would himself recoil; and the power to do what seems to him to be right without considering what others may say or think.
John GalsworthyRead
Sweet Memory! wafted by thy gentle gale, Oft up the stream of Time I turn my sail.
Samuel RogersRead
A man doesn't say I will starve myself to death to keep from starving, or that he'd spend all of his money to save money. Why should he be willing to die for the privilege of living?
Dalton TrumboRead
Like the practice of breath control, meditation on the forms of God, repetition of mantras, food restrictions, etc., are but aids for rendering the mind quiescent.
Ramana MaharshiRead
Losing love is so rich a philosophical ordeal that it makes a hairdresser into a rival of Socrates.
Emile M. CioranRead