[What are the "three gilded balls" mentioned in FH?]

Context, please. By the time Ayn Rand wrote Fountainhead the three gilded balls were the symbol for a pawn shop (in America, at least; in mexico we use the word mount). Next, Lansing was a cynical character, as far as regarded board, commitees and such. Remember he tells Roark they don't really exist, they're one or two ambitious men and a lot of ballast. Finally Lansing is talking about essential things "one doesn't borrow or pawn" when he suggests three gilded balls as a symbol for humanity.

Lansing doesn't like most people, but he knows how to handle them to get what he wants. By humanity he means the large bulk of people, people unlike him or Roark, people he doesn't like. He's not complimenting humanity by choosing that symbol, he's condemning it.

Yes you are correct.

It was bothering me so I went to the bookstore (I don't have a copy at home) and read the line within its context and its clear that he is being cynical and referring to the fact that men pawn and take their thoughts from others rather than think for themselves.

I'm sorry if I caused any confusion.

[What are the "three gilded balls" mentioned in FH?]

This is an old topic but I have to comment and say I disagree with the answer given here.

I joined the site just to clarify this.

I don't believe Rand meant for the gilded balls to represent a pawn shop.

In fact, they only came to be a symbol for a pawn shop later on.

Originally the 3 gilded balls were the symbol for Merchants.

"The heraldic shield of the Medicis with its three balls quite possibly derives from a family affiliation with St Nicholas, but their own family legend explained it otherwise. Before they were bankers, the Medicis were originally engaged in the medical profession; Averardo de Medici, an officer under Charlemagne, slew a giant named Mugello, on whose mace were three gilded balls, and Averardo adopted the three golden balls as the device of his family. Later, other merchants involved in monetary dealing adopted the balls as their symbol, with the three balls coming to symbolise the entire profession."

Kent Lansing is not being cynical, he is being sincere. He is saying that he wouldn't choose an animal or beast to represent man, but a more evolved symbol, 3 gilded balls which were used to represent Merchants, to represent men who live by a rational standard of trade and exchange with each other.