--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is now an act of reason, was but…" description: "\"What is now an act of reason, was but blind impulse.\" — Ovid" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a2/ovid-276_blind_what-is-now-an-act-of-reason-was-but-bli_2658055.png" --- # What is now an act of reason, was but blind impulse. ![“What is now an act of reason, was but blind impulse.” quote by Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a2/ovid-276_blind_what-is-now-an-act-of-reason-was-but-bli_2658055.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a2/ovid-276_blind_what-is-now-an-act-of-reason-was-but-bli_2658055.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a2/ovid-276_blind_what-is-now-an-act-of-reason-was-but-bli_2658055.png) > “What is now an act of reason, was but blind impulse.” [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reasoned actions may seem impulsive, but true reason often follows intuition. **In simple terms:** Reason can appear as impulse. Key Takeaway Balance intuition with analysis. Themes reason intuition philosophy Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - decision making - creative problem solving - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts classical literature cognitive science Questions to Reflect On - When does impulse mask reason? - How to distinguish true insight from rashness? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on intuition can lead to errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-reason-2405254/) [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Blind Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-impulse-2405253/) [Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulse/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reason Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-blind-2405252/) ## Related quotes > [The unconscious mind of man sees correctly even when conscious reason is blind and impotent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-unconscious-mind-of-man-sees-correctly-even-when-conscious-reason/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Will, without reason, is a blind man's motion; will, against reason, is a madman's motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-whichcote/will-without-reason-is-a-blind-man-s-motion-will-against-reason-is-a/) [Benjamin Whichcote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-whichcote/) > [Conscience has nothing to do as lawgiver or judge; but is a witness against me if I do wrong, and which approves if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artur-phleps/conscience-has-nothing-to-do-as-lawgiver-or-judge-but-is-a-witness/) [Artur Phleps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artur-phleps/) > [As we have come to view teaching, it begins with an act of reason, continues with a process of reasoning, culminates in performances of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-s-shulman/as-we-have-come-to-view-teaching-it-begins-with-an-act-of-reason/) [Lee S Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-s-shulman/) > [Even tho it can be hard at times to not judge someone . I've learned not to judge people on how they act because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcella-atutolu/even-tho-it-can-be-hard-at-times-to-not-judge-someone-i-ve-learned/) [Marcella Atutolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcella-atutolu/) > [The impulse to paint comes neither from observation nor from the soul (which is probably blind) but from an encounter: the encounter between painter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-impulse-to-paint-comes-neither-from-observation-nor-from-the-soul/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [For the whole consequence of evolution from blind impulse through conscious will to self conscious knowledge, seems still somehow to correspond to a continued…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-rank/for-the-whole-consequence-of-evolution-from-blind-impulse-through/) [Otto Rank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-rank/) > [In vain do they talk of happiness who never subdued an impulse in obedience to a principle. He who never sacrificed a present to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/in-vain-do-they-talk-of-happiness-who-never-subdued-an-impulse-in/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [What reason would grope for in vain, spontaneous impulse ofttimes achieves at a stroke, with light and pleasureful guidance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-reason-would-grope-for-in-vain-spontaneous-impulse-ofttimes/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not-consist-so-much-in-knowing/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [To our strongest impulse, to the tyrant in us, not only our reason but also our conscience yields.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/to-our-strongest-impulse-to-the-tyrant-in-us-not-only-our-reason-but/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I am dragged along by a strange new force. Desire and reason are pulling in different directions. I see the right way and approve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-am-dragged-along-by-a-strange-new-force-desire-and-reason-are/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [So blind is the curiosity by which mortals are possessed, that they often conduct their minds along unexplored routes, having no reason to hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/so-blind-is-the-curiosity-by-which-mortals-are-possessed-that-they/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“Anything you fear is a shackle to ur soul. It is a phobia that tethers and blinds ur ability to see and comprehend your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/anything-you-fear-is-a-shackle-to-ur-soul-it-is-a-phobia-that-tethers/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) ## More by Ovid > [Every woman thinks herself attractive; even the plainest is satisfied with the charms she deems that she possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/every-woman-thinks-herself-attractive-even-the-plainest-is-satisfied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Time is generally the best doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/time-is-generally-the-best-doctor/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is convenient that there be gods, and, as it is convenient, let us believe there are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-convenient-that-there-be-gods-and-as-it-is-convenient-let-us/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I hate a woman who offers herself because she ought to do so, and cold and dry thinks of her sewing when making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-hate-a-woman-who-offers-herself-because-she-ought-to-do-so-and-cold/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [The sea's vast depths lie open to the fish; Wherever the breezes blow the bird may fly; So to the brave man every land's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/the-sea-s-vast-depths-lie-open-to-the-fish-wherever-the-breezes-blow/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Rare is the virtue that's not ruled by Fortune, That stands unshaken even when Fortune flees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/rare-is-the-virtue-that-s-not-ruled-by-fortune-that-stands-unshaken/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Thus all things altered. Nothing dies. And here and there the unbodied spirit flies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/thus-all-things-altered-nothing-dies-and-here-and-there-the-unbodied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [How little is the promise of the child fulfilled in the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/how-little-is-the-promise-of-the-child-fulfilled-in-the-man/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Judgement of beauty can err, what with the wine and the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/judgement-of-beauty-can-err-what-with-the-wine-and-the-dark/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Leave war to others; 'tis Protesilaus' part of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/leave-war-to-others-tis-protesilaus-part-of-love/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Remove but the temptations of leisure, and the bow of Cupid will lose its effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/remove-but-the-temptations-of-leisure-and-the-bow-of-cupid-will-lose/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) [Explore all 771 Ovid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## More Blind quotes > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is so blind, it feels right when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/love-is-so-blind-it-feels-right-when-it-s-wrong/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [“What I shall feel to-morrow I cannot tell. Maybe I shall go blind again, for women are never two days alike in their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/what-i-shall-feel-to-morrow-i-cannot-tell-maybe-i-shall-go-blind/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/now-the-stage-today-is-to-know-that-self-realization-gives-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“In the story of the blind men and the elephant, what’s usually ignored is the fact that each man’s description was correct. What Faye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/in-the-story-of-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-what-s-usually-ignored/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I'm glad I'm blind and can't see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/i-m-glad-i-m-blind-and-can-t-see-it/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Browse all 3,877 Blind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is now an act of reason, was but blind impulse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ovid" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/what-is-now-an-act-of-reason-was-but-blind-impulse/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/what-is-now-an-act-of-reason-was-but-blind-impulse/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a2/ovid-276_blind_what-is-now-an-act-of-reason-was-but-bli_2658055.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a2/ovid-276_blind_what-is-now-an-act-of-reason-was-but-bli_2658055.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a2/ovid-276_blind_what-is-now-an-act-of-reason-was-but-bli_2658055.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is now an act of reason, was but blind impulse.” — Ovid", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ovid", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What is now an act of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/what-is-now-an-act-of-reason-was-but-blind-impulse/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/what-is-now-an-act-of-reason-was-but-blind-impulse/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```