the salutation to love found in stars.

of late, i have been indulging in excessive atlas shrugged(by ayn rand). and despite it being obnoxiously lengthy, its been an amazing experience.

excerpt;
"...if I answered that real devotion consists of being willing to lie, cheat and fake in order to make another person happy - to create for him the reality he wants, if he doesn't like the one that exists...It's really very simple. If you tell a beautiful woman that she is beautiful, what have you given her? It's no more than a fact and it has cost you nothing. But if you tell an ugly woman that she is beautiful, you offer to her the great homage of corrupting the concept of beauty. To love a woman for her virtues is meaningless. She's earned it, it's a payment, not a gift. But to love her for her vices is a real gift, unearned and undeserved. To love her for her vices is to defile all virtue for her sake - and that is a real tribute of love because you sacrifice your conscience, your reason, your integrity and your invaluable self esteem..." -ayn rand

for some reason, when i first read this, it gave me the philadelphic love kind of feel. then again, i'm sure it works in more ways than one.