قَهَرَ الوَرى وَأَذَلَّهُم أَنَّ الوَرى
مُتَعَلِّلٌ أَو طامِعٌ أَو مُجتَدِ

جَعَلوا رَغائِبَهُم قِياسَ زَمانِهِم
وَالدَهرُ أَكبَرُ أَنْ يُقاسَ بِمَقصَدِ

وَقَتَلتُ في نَفسي الرَغائِب وَالمُنى
فَقَهَرتُهُ بِتَجَرُّدي وَتَزَهُدي

مَن لَيسَ يَضحَك وَالصَباحُ مُوَرِّدٌ
لِم يَكتَإِب وَالصُبحُ غَيرَ مُوَرِّدِ

- إيليا أبو ماضي

It had become clear to me over time that my mercurial temperament and physical restlessness were going to make medical school—especially the first two years, which required sitting still in lecture halls for hours at a time—an unlikely proposition. I found it difficult to stay put for long and found that I learned best on my own. I loved research and writing, and the thought of being chained to the kind of schedule that medical school required was increasingly repugnant.

- An unquiet mind

والدة الفنان
رسمها جبران خليل جبران

أفِقْ خَفيفُ الظلِّ هذا السَحَر
نادى دَعِ النومَ وناغِ الوَتَر

فما أطالَ النومُ عُمرًا ولا
قَصَّر في الأعمارِ طولُ السَهَر

- رباعيات الخيام

Maybe a conscience is a mild form of OCD? Or OCD is conscience going haywire?

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Giulio Rosati (Italian, 1858 - 1917)
The Favourite
oil on canvas

إِذْ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمِّكَ مَا يُوحَىٰ • أَنِ اقْذِفِيهِ فِي التَّابُوتِ فَاقْذِفِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ فَلْيُلْقِهِ الْيَمُّ بِالسَّاحِلِ يَأْخُذْهُ عَدُوٌّ لِّي وَعَدُوٌّ لَّهُ ۚ وَأَلْقَيْتُ عَلَيْكَ مَحَبَّةً مِّنِّي وَلِتُصْنَعَ عَلَىٰ عَيْنِي

[سورة طه]

لِنُرِيَكَ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا الْكُبْرَى

[سورة طه]

صورة ذاتية
رسمها جبران خليل جبران

أَحبِب فَيَغدو الكوخُ كَونًا نَيِّرًا
وَاِبغُض فَيُمسي الكَونُ سِجنًا مُظلِما

ما الكَأسُ لَولا الخَمرُ غَيرُ زُجاجَةٍ
وَالمَرءُ لَولا الحُبُّ إِلّا أَعظُما

كَرِهَ الدُجى فَاِسوَدَّ إِلّا شُهبُهُ
بَقِيَت لِتَضحَكَ مِنهُ كَيفَ تَجَهَّما

- إيليا أبو ماضي

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وأذكُرُ أنّني أوضَحتُ في مقالتي أنَّ جميع المؤسسين والمشرِّعين في تاريخِ الانسانية، من أقدمِهم إلى أحدثِهم، مرورًا بأمثالِ ليسورجوس وسولون ومحمد ونابليون وغيرهم، يمكن أنْ يوصفوا جميعًا بأنّهم مجرمون، لأنّهم حينَ أقاموا قانونًا إنّما خالفوا بذلك قانونًا قديمًا كان يُعَدُّ مقدّسًا وكان موروثًا عن الأسلاف؛ وما كان لهم طبعًا أنْ يَمتَنِعوا عن سفك الدم حين يُسَهِّلُ سَفكُ الدمِ مُهمَّتَهم، بل ويَحسُنُ أنْ نلاحظَ أنّ أكثرَ هؤلاءِ الرواد الذين أحسنوا الى الإنسانيةِ وأصلَحوا المجتمع إنّما كانوا أناسًا شاذين دمويين.

- الجريمة والعقاب، فيودور دوستويفسكي

For the improvements of ages have had but little influence on the essential laws of man's existence; as our skeletons, probably, are not to be distinguished from those of our ancestors.

- Walden, by H. D. Thoreau

وَجَعَلَنِي مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُ وَأَوْصَانِي بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالزَّكَاةِ مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّا

[سورة مريم]

وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ "صَادِقَ الْوَعْدِ" وَكَانَ رَسُولًا نَّبِيًّا

[سورة مريم]

Let's talk about Reason and logic:

Whereas reason is commonly viewed as a superior means to think better on one’s own, we argue that it is mainly used in our interactions with others.
We produce reasons in order to justify our thoughts and actions to others and to produce arguments to convince others to think and act as we suggest. We also use reason to evaluate not so much our own thought as the reasons others produce to justify themselves or to convince us.
Whereas reason is commonly viewed as the use of logic, or at least some system of rules to expand and improve our knowledge and our decisions, we argue that reason is much more opportunistic and eclectic and is not bound to formal norms. The main role of logic in reasoning, we suggest, may well be a rhetorical one: logic helps simplify and schematize intuitive arguments, highlighting and often exaggerating their force.

- The enigma of reason

Reason, we argue, has two main functions: that of producing reasons for justifying oneself, and that of producing arguments to convince others.

- The enigma of reason

Why bother to explain and justify oneself? Humans differ from other animals not only in their hyperdeveloped cognitive capacities but also, and crucially, in how and how much they cooperate. They cooperate not only with kin but also with strangers; not only in here-and-now ventures but also in the pursuit of long-term goals; not only in a small repertoire of species-typical forms of joint action but also in jointly setting up new forms of cooperation.
Such cooperation poses unique problems of coordination and trust.

- The enigma of reason