Reason Quotes

• The great secret of succeeding in conversation is to admire little, to hear much; always to distrust our own reason, and sometimes that of our friends; never to pretend to wit, but to make that of others appear as much as possibly we can; to hearken to what is said and to answer to the purpose.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Loss, Secret, Purpose

  Benjamin Franklin “Poor Richard Day by Day”, Lulu.com

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• Faith is led confidently to expect what reason would never suggest.

  Charles Spurgeon

  Spurgeon, Charles (2015). “The Complete Works of C. H. Spurgeon, Volume 33: Sermons 1938-2000”, p.644, Delmarva Publications, Inc.

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• Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small. The difficult things in this world must be done while they are easy, the greatest things in the world must be done while they are still small. For this reason sages never do what is great, and this is why they achieve greatness.

  Sun Tzu

  Greatness, Sage, Done

  Sun Tzu (2005). “The Art of War”, p.6, Shambhala Publications

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• Reason is an action of the mind; knowledge is a possession of the mind; but faith is an attitude of the person. It means you are prepared to stake yourself on something being so.

  Michael Ramsey

  Faith, Attitude, Mean

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• The key reason executives are paid so much now is that they appoint the members of the corporate board that determines their compensation and control many of the perks that board members count on. So it's not the invisible hand of the market that leads to those monumental executive incomes; it's the invisible handshake in the boardroom.

  Paul Krugman

  Keys, Hands, Invisible Hand

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• The business of philosophy is not to give rules, but to analyze the private judgments of common reason.

  Immanuel Kant

  Business, Philosophy, Giving

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• Whereas young people become accomplished in geometry and mathematics, and wise within these limits, prudent young people do not seem to be found. The reason is that prudence is concerned with particulars as well as universals, and particulars become known from experience, but a young person lacks experience, since some length of time is needed to produce it.

  Aristotle

  Wise, Knowledge, Learning

  Aristotle, Terence Irwin (2000). “Nicomachean Ethics (Second Edition)”, p.93, Hackett Publishing

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• I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must not, for whatever reason, turn his back on life." Another "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

  Eleanor Roosevelt

  Strong Women, Empowering, Curiosity

  Quoted in Vidette-Messenger (Valparaiso, Ind.), 7 June 1941 See Channing 1

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• Reason, too late perhaps, may convince you of the folly of misspending time.

  George Washington

  Time, Too Late, May

  George Washington, John Clement Fitzpatrick, David Maydole Matteson (1792). “The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799”, p.408

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• Those who are accustomed to judge by feeling do not understand the process of reasoning, because they want to comprehend at a glance and are not used to seeking for first principles. Those, on the other hand, who are accustomed to reason from first principles do not understand matters of feeling at all, because they look for first principles and are unable to comprehend at a glance.

  Blaise Pascal

  Math, Hands, Judging

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• Reason teaches us that what is good is good for something, and that what is good for nothing is not good at all.

  F. H. Bradley

  Goodness, Teach

  F. H. Bradley (2012). “Ethical Studies”, p.53, Cambridge University Press

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• Man is so inconsistent a creature that it is impossible to reason from his beliefs to his conduct, or from one part of his belief to another.

  Thomas B. Macaulay

  Men, Belief, Impossible

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• The people starve because those above them eat too much tax-grain. That is the only reason why they starve.

  Laozi

  People, Too Much, Poverty

  Laozi (1999). “Laozi”

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• Reason is the substance of the universe. The design of the world is absolutely rational.

  Christian Friedrich Hebbel

  Design, World, Substance

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• Reason speaks and feeling bites

  Plutarch

  Feelings, Speak, Bites

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• Human reason is like a drunken man on horseback; set it up on one side, and it tumbles over on the other

  Martin Luther

  Men, Alcohol, Sides

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• Reason is the slow and torturous method by which those who do not know the truth discover it

  Blaise Pascal

  Method, Knows

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• There was good reason for the silence of the Holy Spirit as to how,when, in what form Christ ordained the apostles, the reason being to show the indifferency of all forms of words.

  John Wycliffe

  Silence, Spirit, Christ

  "Typical English Churchmen". Book by John Neville Figgis, p. 16, 1909.

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• It is said, that no one is a hero to their butler. The reason is, that it requires a hero to recognize a hero. The butler, however, will probably know well how to estimate his equals.

  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

  Hero, Butlers, Said

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• Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. Experience has taught us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession, and when the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

  George Washington

  Freedom, Taken, Fire

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• So the first reason for studying Scripture is that it is a means of spiritual growth. There is none apart from the Word. It is God's primary tool to develop you as an individual.

  Howard G. Hendricks

  Spiritual, Mean, Growth

  Howard G. Hendricks, William D. Hendricks (2007). “Living By the Book/Living By the Book Workbook Set”, p.12, Moody Publishers

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• It is my firm belief that the infinite and uncontrollable fury of nuclear weapons should never be held in the hands of any mere mortal ever again, for any reason.

  Mikhail Gorbachev

  Hands, Nuclear Disarmament, Weapons

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• Extensive violations of human rights (torture, forced reduction of living standards for much of the population, police-sponsored death squads, destruction of representative institutions or of independent unions, etc.) are directly correlated with US government support. The linkage is not accidental; rather it is systematic. The reason is obvious enough. Client fascism often improves the business climate for American corporations, quite generally the guiding factor in foreign policy.

  Noam Chomsky

  Independent, Violation Of Human Rights, Government

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• Let your conversation be without malice or envy, for it is a sign of a tractable and commendable nature; and in all cases of passion admit reason to govern.

  George Washington

  Passion, Envy, Brilliant

  George Washington (2010). “George Washington's Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior”, p.20, Cosimo, Inc.

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• To be able to bear provocation is an argument of great reason, and to forgive it of a great mind.

  John Tillotson

  Forgiveness, Forgiving, Mind

  John Tillotson (1714). “The works of the most reverend Dr. John Tillotson, late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: containing fifty four sermons and discourses on several occasions. Together with The Rule of Faith. Being all that were published by His Grace himself and now collected into one volume, to which is added an alphabetical table of the principle matter”, p.391

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