It's not about who's going to let me; it's about who's going to stop me.

Do you know the hallmark of the second-rater? It's resentment of another man's achievement.

If you tell an ugly woman that she is beautiful, you offer her the great homage of corrupting the concept of beauty.

All life is a purposeful struggle, and your only choice is the choice of a goal.

If, before undertaking some action, you must obtain the permission of society-you are not free, whether such permission is granted to you or not. Only a slave acts on permission. A permission is not a right.

And what is the state but a servant and a convenience for a large number of people, just like the electric light and the plumbing system? And wouldnt it be preposterous to claim that men must exist for their plumbing, not the plumbing for the men.

Are you in a universe which is ruled by natural laws and, therefore, is stable, firm, absolute - and knowable? Or are you in an incomprehensible chaos, a realm of inexplicable miracles, an unpredictable, unknowable flux, which your mind is impotent to grasp? The nature of your actions - and of your ambition - will be different, according to which set of answers you come to accept.