Ayn Rand Quotes

It's better to die doing good than to live doing evil.

To be good, and to do good, is all we have to do.

Altruism is for those who cannot endure their desires.

It's that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so 'don't fuss, dear; get on with it.'

I always put myself second - I like to make others happy.

It shows nobility to be willing to increase your debt to a man to whom you already owe much.

Not what they want but what is good for them.

Heroes are people who think more of others than themselves. This is not to say that they don't think of themselves. They do. They certainly do. But they think of others more.

It is a luxury to put our interests first. It is an honor to put the interests of others before our own.

We manifest character when self-sacrifice for the sake of our principles becomes more important than compromise for the sake of popularity.

If she loved him the way she said she did, she wanted him whole. Maybe this was what love meant after all: sacrifice and selflessness. It did not mean hearts and flowers and a happy ending, but the knowledge that another's well-being is more important than one's own.

The only way to save yourself is to endeavor to save others.

It is impossible to be just if one is not generous.

Charity is to will and do what is just and right in every transaction.

I start every day by wanting more for others than I do for myself. I think that is how God works, and that is how I think we have to work.

Courage is a decision you make to act in a way that works through your own fear for the greater good as opposed to pure self-interest. Courage means putting at risk your immediate self-interest for what you believe is right.

Once, there was a girl who vowed she would save everyone in the world, but forgot herself.

Those who are willing to sacrifice and be of service have very little difficulty with people. They know what they are all about. People can't help but want to be near them. They help them; they work with them. That's what love is all about. It starts with your heart and radiates out.

What is the mark of love for your neighbor? Not to seek what is for your own benefit, but what is for the benefit of the one loved, both in body and in soul.

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.

If we make sacrifices in doing good or in doing ill, it does not alter the ultimate value of our actions; even if we stake our life in the cause, as martyrs do for the sake of our church : it is a sacrifice to our longing for power, or for the purpose of conserving our sense of power.

We ought to be people of compassion. And being people of compassion means we deny ourselves, and our self centeredness.

The sole way to save oneself is to save others. Or to struggle to save others -even that is sufficient.

I believe in doing good for good's sake.