Ayn Rand on honor

If devotion to truth is the hallmark of morality, then there is no greater, nobler, more heroic form of devotion than the act of a man who assumes the responsibility of thinking…the alleged short-cut to knowledge, which is faith, is only a short-circuit destroying the mind.

Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).

The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.

It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them.

Mark Twain1835–1910

The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.

Ralph Waldo Emerson1803–1882The Conduct of Life (1860), Worship

If I lose mine honour, I lose myself.

William Shakespeare1564–1616Antony and Cleopatra (1600s), Act III, scene 4, line 22.In context