Michael

“Roark, floating like a piece of driftwood, held a power greater than that of the engine in the belly of the yacht. Wynand thought: Because that is the power from which the engine has come.”
― Ayn Rand

“Of course. What else can one do if one must serve the people? If one must live for others? Either pander to everybody's wishes and be called corrupt; or impose on everybody by force your own idea of everybody's good. Can you think of any other way?”
― Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

“I'm glad you admit that you have friends.'
'I even admit that I love them. But I couldn't love them if they were my chief reason for living. Do you notice that Peter Keating hasn't a single friend left? Do you see why? If one doesn't respect oneself one can have neither love nor respect for others.'
'To hell with Peter Keating. I'm thinking of you-and your friends'
Roark smiled. 'Gail, if this boat were sinking, I'd give my life to save you. Not because it's any kind of duty. Only because I like you, for reasons and standards of my own. I could die for you. But I couldn't and wouldn't live for you.'
'Howard, what were the reasons and standards?'
'That you weren't born a second-hander.”
― Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

“It's everywhere and nowhere and you can't reason with him. He's not open to reason. You can't speak to him-he can't hear. You're tried by an empty bench. A blind mass running amuck, to crush you without sense or purpose. Steve Mallory couldn't define the monster, but he knew. That's the drooling beast he fears. The second-hander.”
― Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead