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(Continued)
The Personality of Man
When a personality is formed, it is up to reason to give the general conception of the kind of structure which arises. It is that by which the paving of the foundation is completed so that the building may stand on it . . . whether it is tall and strong, adorned with colour and beauty or whether it is humble, faded and shrunken and will not last in any circumstance. For reason, and nothing else, is the inner meaning of man. It is the essence without which it would be impossible for man to live on the surface of the earth. It is as if it is the final quintessence in the furthest one of the chains of purifications which stretches throughout the length of life. It is as if it is the value which begins in the bitterness of the dust and sand of matter in order to attain in the end the purity of the spirit. It is as if it is the fragrance which follows the chain from the dust of the soil to pass over the colours of flowers into the lightness of the mind.
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This reason, distilled from the substance of the body as wine is distilled from the grape, as scent is distilled from bunches of aromatic plants, is that which leads to thought just as wine leads to intoxication, just as scent leads to fragrance.
Reason, then, is that craftsman which only exposes the area of its crafts within the areas of its skill and the glory of its creations are only affected when these come into contact with the fascination of its astonishing creation. As a result it is that source of reference which the personality of man will only find when it takes refuge in its shelter. Then reason will work to develop that personality with all the power it has been given to develop it. Thus when the personality emerges from reason, yet still with reason's grasp, it is as if the personality is a true expression of the power of the noble character of reason, i.e. it arises out of reason to the limits of the heights of consciousness and of the depths of purity.
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