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Quotes About Reason

I do my duty: other things trouble me not; for they are either things without life, or things without reason, or things that have rambled and know not the way.
~ Marcus Aurelius
If thou workest at that which is before thee, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract thee, but keeping thy divine part pure, as if thou shouldst be bound to give it back immediately; if thou holdest to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity according to nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound which thou utterest, thou wilt live happy.
~ Marcus Aurelius
Stoics held that material objects alone existed; but immanent in the material universe was a spiritual force which acted through them, manifesting itself under many forms, as fire, aether, spirit, soul, reason, the ruling principle.
~ Marcus Aurelius
Do you have reason? I have. Why then do you not use it? For if reason does its own work, what else could you wish for?
~ Marcus Aurelius
If you remove your judgement of anything that seems painful, you yourself stand quite immune to pain. 'What self?' Reason. 'But I am not just reason.' Granted. So let reason cause itself no pain, and if some other part of you is in trouble, it can form its own judgement for itself.
~ Marcus Aurelius
He is an abscess on the universe who withdraws and separates himself from the reason of our common nature through being displeased with the things that happen; for the same nature that produces these things has produced you, too:
~ Marcus Aurelius
Always run to the short way; and the short way is the natural: accordingly say and do everything in conformity with the soundest reason. For such a purpose frees a man from trouble, and warfare, and all artifice and ostentatious display.
~ Marcus Aurelius
If our intellectual part is common, the reason also, in respect of which we are rational beings, is common: if this is so, common also is the reason which commands us what to do, and what not to do; if this is so, there is a common law also; if this is so, we are fellow-citizens; if this is so, we are members of some political community; if this is so, the world is in a manner a state.
~ Marcus Aurelius
Among the animals which have not reason one life is distributed; but among reasonable animals one intelligent soul is distributed: just as there is one earth of all things which are of an earthy nature, and we see by one light, and breathe one air, all of us that have the faculty of vision and all that have life. All
~ Marcus Aurelius
5. Every moment think steadily as a Roman and a man to do what thou hast in hand with perfect and simple dignity, and feeling of affection, and freedom, and justice; and to give thyself relief from all other thoughts. And thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last, laying aside all carelessness and passionate aversion from the commands of reason, and all hypocrisy, and self-love, and discontent with the portion which has been given to thee.
~ Marcus Aurelius
What, then, makes for a good person? These principles: Be content in all circumstances, accepting whatever Fate brings you; preserve the spark of divinity within, not crowding it out with entertainments and distractions; follow the light of reason, always speaking truly and acting justly; live simply and serenely, disregarding what others may say about you; be happy with your lot in life, and ready to depart when you're called.
~ Marcus Aurelius
He is a fugitive, he who flees from the reason that governs our soicial life; a blind man, he who closes the eyes of his mind; a beggar, he who depends on another and does not possess within himself all that is necessary for life; an abscess on the body of the universe, he who sets himself apart and cuts himself off from the reason of our common nature because he is dissatisfied with what comes to pass; for this is brought about by the same order of nature that brought you too into being.
~ Marcus Aurelius
But he that honours a reasonable soul in general, as it is reasonable and naturally sociable, doth little regard anything else: and above all things is careful to preserve his own, in the continual habit and exercise both of reason and sociableness: and thereby doth co-operate with him, of whose nature he doth also participate; God.
~ Marcus Aurelius
If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you should be bound to give it back immediately; if you hold to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with your present activity according to nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound which you speak, you will live happy. And there is no man who is able to prevent this.
~ Marcus Aurelius
The substance of the universe is obedient and compliant; and the reason that governs it has in itself no cause for doing evil, for it has no malice, nor does it do evil to anything, nor is anything harmed by it. But all things are made and perfected according to this reason.
~ Marcus Aurelius
If our intellectual part is common, the reason also, in respect of which we are rational beings, is common: if this is so, common also is the reason which commands us what to do, and what not to do;
~ Marcus Aurelius
A man should always have these two rules in readiness; the one, to do only whatever the reason of the ruling and legislating faculty may suggest for the use of men; the other, to change thy opinion, if there is any one at hand who sets thee right and moves thee from any opinion. But this change of opinion must proceed only from a certain persuasion, as of what is just or of common advantage, and the like, not because it appears pleasant or brings reputation. Hast
~ Marcus Aurelius
Sin is the the corruption of reason. That's why humans are capable of such evils, while unreasoning animals are not.
~ Marcus Aurelius
el no dejarme regir, ni aun en las cosas mínimas, por otros principios que por la razón;
~ Marcus Aurelius
To follow the logos in all things is to be relaxed and energetic, joyful and serious at once.
~ Marcus Aurelius
Where does our common reason come from? What gives us this capacity for discernment, right action, and law? All things must come from somewhere. Our bodies are made of elements that come from the earth and are hydrated by the earth's waters. Reason, too, must have a Source. This is a profound mystery.
~ Marcus Aurelius
To change your experience, change your opinion. Stop telling yourself that you're a victim and the pain goes away. What truly hurts you is what makes you a worse person. Don't say you've been harmed if your reason and character are untouched. And no one can muddy your reason and mar your character but yourself.
~ Marcus Aurelius
offences which are committed through desire are more blameable than those which are committed through anger. For he who is excited by anger seems to turn away from reason with a certain pain and unconscious contraction; but he who offends through desire, being overpowered by pleasure, seems to be in a manner more intemperate and more womanish in his offences.
~ Marcus Aurelius
Is it not plain that the inferior exists for the sake of the superior? But the things which have life are superior to those which have not life, and of those which have life the superior are those which have reason.
~ Marcus Aurelius