This passage from Atlas Shrugged is an echo of the epic poetry of Homer & Ovid. Here is my attempt to bring it to life, 65 years later...
Imagine a billionaire playboy - the envy of everyone and the ire of their insecurities - in a room that cannot possibly hold his mind or his soul. He holds forth, incredulously passionate in the face of a sinful proclamation, and lets loose a profound response to the inanity he's confronting...
Commonly referred to as "The Money Speech", this excerpt from Atlas Shrugged - produced from the ingenious mind of the author, Ayn Rand - is an experience in and of itself.
When I read this book for the first time nearly eight years ago, I could not even remotely appreciate the depth and wisdom of this philosophy. All these years later, after my own experiences working in the world, earning money, trying to comprehend the ideas of value and effort, the words declaimed by Francisco d'Anconia have grooved an even deeper impact on my education.
I hope that this might spark a fire of curiosity for those who have not read this novel; for those of you who have, I hope I can do justice to your memory of this speech.
For a full transcript of the speech, visit this link to Capitalism Magazine.