Self-esteem is reliance on one's power to think. It cannot be replaced by one's power to deceive. The self-confidence of a scientist and the self-confidence of a con man are not interchangeable states, and do not come from the same psychological universe. The success of a man who deals with reality augments his self-confidence. The success of a con man augments his panic.

When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and lose their lives for the purpose of becoming the fodder of the immoral. Do not expect them to produce, when production is punished and looting rewarded. Do not ask, "Who is destroying the world?" You are.

She thought how strange it would be if she ever said 'Hello' to him. One did not greet oneself each morning.

One's own independent judgment is the means by which one must choose one's actions, but it is not a moral criterion nor a moral validation; only reference to a demonstrable principle can validate one's choices.

My morality, the morality of reason, is contained in a single axiom: existence exists - and in a single choice: to live.

A house can have integrity, just like a person.

I am opposed to all forms of control. I am for an absolute, laissez-faire, free, unregulated economy.