Quotation
Quote by David Hume
Reason is, and ought only to be, the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.
Explore the idea
Understanding this quote
The quote presents reason as a tool rather than a ruler. It helps people work out how to achieve what their passions—strong desires and feelings—already lead them to pursue. Reason can guide action and solve problems, but it does not set the ultimate goals; it serves the ends supplied by passion.
Source & trust
About this quotation
- Source
- Project Gutenberg, The Philosophical Works of David Hume, Volume II
- Format
- Official Statement
Explore the idea
Topics
Join the community
Keep meaningful words close.
Save quotes, follow people and topics, join conversations, and publish words of your own.
“I see what needs to be done and I will do it.”
“When I write it’s usually an interior process with a lot of changes happening at breakneck speed in my head.”
“Being Canadian has been a psychological barrier.”
Read quote“The study of the mentality of the Australian Aborigine has a strong academic interest and at the same time has a practical and vital importance.”
“If you make the wrong choice, this could be injurious to your intellectual health.”
“That’s what art is supposed to do—art makes people feel less alone, in their joy or their struggle or their pain.”
“If you fixate on the worst-case scenario and it actually happens, you've lived it twice: once in your mind and once when it happens.”
“I challenge all my fellow journalists to actually move with their hearts more often.”
““No momento em que você toma decisões editoriais, tem que pensar como editor, como jornalista.””
“人是靠自己意志的，意志十分重要。”
When the Press Learned to Listen
Irena was halfway through pricing her old apple press when three children arrived with a question, a crate of bruised apples, and no intention of taking no for an answer.
Read Story