--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As down the centuries, a few men stand in…" description: "\"“As down the centuries, a few men stand in lonely rectitude that we may look and say, there is a human race behind us.”\" — Ayn Rand" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/ayn-rand-59_human-race_as-down-the-centuries-a-few-men-stand-in_583014.jpg" --- # As down the centuries, a few men stand in lonely rectitude… ![“As down the centuries, a few men stand in lonely rectitude that we may look and say, there is a human race behind us.” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/ayn-rand-59_human-race_as-down-the-centuries-a-few-men-stand-in_583014.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/ayn-rand-59_human-race_as-down-the-centuries-a-few-men-stand-in_583014.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/ayn-rand-59_human-race_as-down-the-centuries-a-few-men-stand-in_583014.jpg) > ““As down the centuries, a few men stand in lonely rectitude that we may look and say, there is a human race behind us.”” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A few individuals uphold steadfast principles, allowing humanity to recognize its collective legacy. **In simple terms:** Some stand firm, showing humanity’s progress. Key Takeaway Recognize and learn from those who uphold integrity. Themes integrity legacy humanity Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - leadership - education - civic discourse Key Concepts philosophy individualism historical perspective Questions to Reflect On - Who exemplifies steadfast integrity today? - How does individual rectitude shape societal values? A Different Perspective Such ideals may be rare and hard to emulate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/throughout-the-centuries-there-were-men-who-took-first-steps-down-new/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Give her not greatness. For great souls must stand Alone and lonely in this little world: Cleft rocks that show the great Creator's hand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/give-her-not-greatness-for-great-souls-must-stand-alone-and-lonely-in/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [In Liberation, you stand alone. You stand alone because you need no supports of any kind. 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Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [When a hundred men stand together, each of them loses his mind and gets another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-a-hundred-men-stand-together-each-of-them-loses-his-mind-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Men can not stand the explosive mixture of beauty and intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/men-can-not-stand-the-explosive-mixture-of-beauty-and-intelligence/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [Through the centuries, men of law have been persistently concerned with the resolution of disputes in ways that enable society to achieve its goals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-cox/through-the-centuries-men-of-law-have-been-persistently-concerned/) [Archibald Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-cox/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. 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She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Human race quotes > [Race is the idea that a human being is more superior than another human being, race in society grants illusional rights to mistreat each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/race-is-the-idea-that-a-human-being-is-more-superior-than-another/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. 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Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-p-johnson/) [Browse all 2,205 Human race quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As down the centuries, a few men stand in lonely rectitude that we may look and say, there is a human race behind us.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayn Rand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/as-down-the-centuries-a-few-men-stand-in-lonely-rectitude-that-we-may/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human race" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/as-down-the-centuries-a-few-men-stand-in-lonely-rectitude-that-we-may/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/ayn-rand-59_human-race_as-down-the-centuries-a-few-men-stand-in_583014.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/ayn-rand-59_human-race_as-down-the-centuries-a-few-men-stand-in_583014.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/ayn-rand-59_human-race_as-down-the-centuries-a-few-men-stand-in_583014.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As down the centuries, a few men stand in lonely rectitude that we may look and say, there is a human race…” — Ayn Rand", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ayn Rand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As down the centuries, a few...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/as-down-the-centuries-a-few-men-stand-in-lonely-rectitude-that-we-may/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/as-down-the-centuries-a-few-men-stand-in-lonely-rectitude-that-we-may/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```