There is no necessary clash, no dichotomy between man’s reason and his
emotions—provided he observes their proper relationship. A rational man
knows—or makes it a point to discover—the source of his emotions, the basic
premises from which they come; if his premises are wrong, he corrects them. He
never acts on emotions for which he cannot account, the meaning of which he
does not understand. In appraising a situation, he knows why he reacts as he
does and whether he is right. He has no inner conflicts, his mind and his
emotions are integrated, his consciousness is in perfect harmony. His emotions
are not his enemies, they are his means of enjoying life. But they are not his
guide; the guide is his mind. This relationship cannot be reversed, however.
If a man takes his emotions as the cause and his mind as their passive effect,
if he is guided by his emotions and uses his mind only to rationalize or
justify them somehow—then he is acting immorally, he is condemning himself
to misery, failure, defeat, and he will achieve nothing but destruction—his
own and that of others.