"Howard Roark, Architect"

"It doesn't say much. Only 'Howard Roark, Architect.' But it's like those mottoes men carved over the entrance of a castle and died for. It's a challenge in the face of something so vast and so dark, that all the pain on earth -- and do you know how much suffering there is on earh? -- all the pain comes from that thing you are going to face. I don't know what it is, I don't know why it should be unleashed against you. I know only that it will be. And I know that if you carry these words through to the end, it will be a victory, Howard, not just for you, but for something that should win, that moves the world -- and never wins acknowledgement. It will vindicate so many who have fallen before you, who have suffered as you will suffer. May God bless you -- or whoever it is that is alone to see the best, the highest possible to human hearts. You're on your way into hell, Howard."

I really liked this quote from The Fountainhead. It comes right after Roark starts off on his own and is the response his mentor gives to seeing a snapshot of the front door to his office, in which "Howard Roark, Architect" is etched. Makes you wonder, what's the motto carved over the entrance to your castle to die for?