Ayn Rand Quotes

Theirs is the banner in my hand. And I wish I had the power to tell them that the despair of their hearts was not to be final, and their night was not without hope. For the battle they lost can never be lost. For that which they died to save can never perish. Through all the darkness, through all the shame of which men are capable, the spirit of man will remain alive on this earth. It may sleep, but it will awaken. It may wear chains, but it will break through. And man will go on. Man, not men. ~Equality 7-2521 (as Prometheus), pgs 103-104

You cannot break the human spirit.

We shall live even in this state of living death, we shall love, we shall feel, we shall defy all who would judge and destroy us.

During the darkest periods in recent history, of course, the most subversive things you could do is think, read if you can get the material and remind yourself that love exists.

As long as hope remains and meaning is preserved, the possibility of overcoming oppression stays alive.

I understood that centuries of chains and lashes will not kill the spirit of man nor the sense of truth within him.

The human spirit is resilient and truth - no matter how long you abuse it and how long you try to crush it - will, as Dr. King would say, rise up again, and in the final analysis will prevail.

The depth of darkness to which you can descend and still live is an exact measure of the height to which you can aspire to reach.

'A Child Called It' was a story about resilience, it was never about boo hoo hoo, it was about a kid that didn't quit.

I believe very deeply in the human spirit, and I have a sense of awe about it. I look around and ask, 'What makes the difference? What is it?' I've known people the world has thrown everything at - to discourage them, to kill them, to break their spirit. And yet something about them retains a dignity. They face life and they don't ask quarters.

Reflecting on his years in prison, Nelson Mandela wrote that there were dark moments that tested his faith in humanity, but he refused to give up.

Sometimes, a flame can be utterly extinguished. Sometimes, a flame can shrink and waver, but sometimes a flame refuses to go out. It flares up from the faintest ember to illuminate the darkness, to burn in spite of overwhelming odds.

But what could you do? Only keep going. People kept going; they had been doing it for thousands of years. You took the kindness offered, letting it seep as far in as it could go, and the remaining dark crevices you carried around with you, knowing that over time they might change into something almost bearable.

To oppression, plundering and abandonment, we respond with life.

I believe man will not merely endure, he will prevail...because he has a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.

Even in its darkest passages, the heart is unconquerable. It is important that the body survives, but it is more meaningful that the human spirit prevails.

Oppression won't win, the light comes from within.

What I learned for myself... is that no matter what the circumstances, people survive.

All my life, I have been a positive thinker... I have always been able to survive by telling myself that no matter how bad things are, they will one day be better. And that out of every event - no matter how tragic - one can always find a way to survive and even, perhaps, to be a little bit happy.

Nothing can resist the person who smiles at life - I don't mean the ironic and disillusioned smile of my grandfather, but the triumphant smile of the person who knows that he will survive, or that at least he will be saved by what seems to be destroying him.

The human spirit is stronger than any government or institution.

I just want people to know that they can make it through hard times like I did.

Look at my life. I almost died. I almost died several times. My shoulders were down, man. But I kicked out. I kicked out again. Someone upstairs obviously likes me. So maybe I should, too.

The Khmer Rouge can't destroy me. I still have my imagination and am capable of making films. I am not locked up.

I don't want people to feel sorry for me or pity me - I want people to know that what got me through was human spirit and everyone has that in them.