“Man cannot survive except through his mind. He comes on earth unarmed. His brain is his only weapon. Animals obtain food by force. man had no claws, no fangs, no horns, no great strength of muscle. He must plant his food or hunt it. To plant, he needs a process of thought. To hunt, he needs weapons,and to make weapons - a process of thought. From this simplest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the skyscraper, everything we are and we have comes from a single attribute of man -the function of his reasoning mind. "
Howard Roark - The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
Always happy to see a quote about Rand. About Howard Roark and rands greatest (to me) work, the fountainhead. Its hard is this forum not to read into these quotes. these authors. there is so much meaning to me in all of them. the meanings sometimes have their own meanings. so what are you saying with Rand pen and Roarks mouth. what is it about this quote that you need to say and we need to hear. will your thoughts always been written through the words of others? or your poems, cryptic in their words and expressive in their rhythm, be a substitution for a pure output of your thoughts? the only way I can describe this is as follows: I have read the fountainhead. three times in 4 years. lets say then that I suddenly found my self lost and stranded and forgotten. And the only thing I had left to read was 15 page condensed version of the fountainhead written as a series of quotes. How much would I long for the whole story again?!
ReplyDeleteThe Fountainhead is one of my favorites. I like words, whether they are my own or from the thinking of others. Sometimes I find a particular poem, quote, novel, essay, song, etc. that resonates with me for myriad reasons. I can't compete with something that already exists and is written so beautifully.
DeleteHave you ever seen the movie "The Book of Eli" ? There is a great example of what you could do if you found yourself lost and stranded without a book. Just memorize your favorites so you will have them with you, whether it is taken away or not. :)
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