To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I.'
Ayn RandRead
Married people dont look like they have bedrooms on their minds when they look at each other. In this world, either you're virtuous or you enjoy yourself. Not both...Not both.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the complexity of marital relationships and the tension between virtue and hedonism.
Ayn Rand explores the dynamics of married life, suggesting that couples may prioritize their connection over physical desires. She argues that in the context of marriage, individuals often grapple with the balance between maintaining virtue and indulging in personal pleasure, ultimately asserting that one cannot authentically pursue both at the same time.
In practice
This quote could be shared during a relationship counseling session to illustrate the complexities of marital dynamics.
To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I.'
The difference between animals and humans is that animals change themselves for the environment, but humans change the environment for themselves.
It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgement of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.
What is the basic, the essential, the crucial principle that differentiates freedom from slavery? It is the principle of voluntary action versus physical coercion or compulsion.
One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning. Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i.e., the nonliving, the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living.
I think that when in doubt about the truth of an issue, it's safer and in better taste to select the least numerous of the adversaries.
And on that evening when we grow older still we'll speak about these two young men as though they were two strangers we met on the train and whom we admire and want to help along. And we'll want to call it envy, because to call it regret would break our hearts.
It's absolutely essential that we have the same safeguards that straight couples do. But I want more than a 50 percent chance of success. I don't want to emulate that.
We exist in a culture where trans people are constantly delegitimized.
We know that all interracial groups in South Africa are relationships in which whites are superior, blacks inferior. So as a prelude, whites must be made to realize that they are only human, not superior. Same with blacks. They must be made to realize that they are also human, not inferior.
Some of my relatives held on to imagined memories the way homeless people hold onto lottery tickets. Nostalgia was their crack cocaine, if you will, and my childhood was littered with the consequences of their addiction : unserviceable debts, squabbles over inheritances, the odd alcoholic or suicide.
You mustn't force sex to do the work of love or love to do the work of sex.
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