"If it were true that men could achieve their good by means of turning some men into sacrificial animals, and I were asked to immolate myself for the sake of creatures who wanted to survive at the price of my blood, if I were asked to serve the interests of society apart from, above and against my own—I would refuse, I would reject it as the most contemptible evil, I would fight it with every power I possess, I would fight the whole of mankind, if one minute were all I could last before I were murdered, I would fight in the full confidence of the justice of my battle and of a living being’s right to exist. Let there be no misunderstanding about me. If it is now the belief of my fellow men, who call themselves the public, that their good requires victims, then I say: 'The public be damned, I will have no part of it!'"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 481 ; Hank Rearden to panel of judges
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. It was Rand's fourth, longest, and last novel, and she considered it her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing.
115 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Atlas Shrugged →
Related Quotes
"He liked to observe emotions; they were like red lanterns strung along the dark unknown of another's personality, mar…"
"She was twelve years old when she told Eddie Willers that she would run the railroad when they grew up. She was fifte…"
"There is no necessity for pain—why, then, is the worst pain reserved for those who will not accept its necessity?—we …"
"It is not advisable, James, to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of …"
"Man? What is man? He's just a collection of chemicals with delusions of grandeur."
"I don't like people who speak or think in terms of gaining anybody's confidence. If one's actions are honest, one doe…"
"Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find th…"
"He saw for the first time that he had never known fear because, against any disaster, he had held the omnipotent cure…"
"As the tunnel came closer, they saw, at the edge of the sky far to the south, in a void of space and rock, a spot of …"
"Who is John Galt?"