--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man may debar nonsense from his library…" description: "\"A man may debar nonsense from his library of reason, but not from the arena of his impulses.\" — Rex Stout" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/rex-stout-2846_arena_a-man-may-debar-nonsense-from-his-librar_483104.png" --- # A man may debar nonsense from his library of reason, but… ![“A man may debar nonsense from his library of reason, but not from the arena of his impulses.” quote by Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/rex-stout-2846_arena_a-man-may-debar-nonsense-from-his-librar_483104.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/rex-stout-2846_arena_a-man-may-debar-nonsense-from-his-librar_483104.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/rex-stout-2846_arena_a-man-may-debar-nonsense-from-his-librar_483104.png) > “A man may debar nonsense from his library of reason, but not from the arena of his impulses.” [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reason can filter ideas, but impulses act without rational gatekeeping, often leading to irrational behavior. **In simple terms:** Reason filters ideas; impulses ignore logic. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage impulsive urges. Themes self‑control reason impulse psychology Mood reflective cautious analytical Type advice philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal decision‑making - conflict resolution - creative brainstorming - stressful negotiations Key Concepts cognitive bias emotional regulation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance rational analysis with emotional urges? - When might an impulse be beneficial? A Different Perspective Impulses can be powerful and may override reason even when aware. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arena/) [Debar Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debar-nonsense-4151017/) [Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulse/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Library Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library-reason-4151018/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [Nonsense Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense-library-4151019/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [Sexual integrity means honestly recognizing our own impulses and desires and honoring them, whether or not we choose to act on them. If we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/starhawk/sexual-integrity-means-honestly-recognizing-our-own-impulses-and/) [Starhawk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/starhawk/) > [Who's the big government guy? These labels are nonsense. And the Tea Party, if you want to call them working class, you know, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/who-s-the-big-government-guy-these-labels-are-nonsense-and-the-tea/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [We live in a very pluralistic society today. There are Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, atheists, Roman Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and Christians like me. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/we-live-in-a-very-pluralistic-society-today-there-are-buddhists/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The rules of survival never change, whether you're in a desert or in an arena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-grylls/the-rules-of-survival-never-change-whether-you-re-in-a-desert-or-in/) [Bear Grylls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-grylls/) > [The galleries are full of critics. They play no ball, they fight no fights. They make no mistakes because they attempt nothing. Down in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-shoup/the-galleries-are-full-of-critics-they-play-no-ball-they-fight-no/) [David M. 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How to surface that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/every-nba-arena-has-six-cameras-in-the-ceiling-the-question-is-what/) [Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/) > [I've never liked talking about my personal life, ever. Ever since I was 20, I've lived in a kind of public arena; and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-dalton/i-ve-never-liked-talking-about-my-personal-life-ever-ever-since-i-was/) [Timothy Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-dalton/) > [The most difficult idea to reconcile in war is the notion that anything is going to be solved by killing a stranger, or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/the-most-difficult-idea-to-reconcile-in-war-is-the-notion-that/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [ We're striving to stay in the arenas. We \[Papa Roach\] had just little things that just took our show a step up and were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-palermo/we-re-striving-to-stay-in-the-arenas-we-papa-roach-had-just-little/) [Tony Palermo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-palermo/) > [Cannes is a sort of gladiators' arena, and that's the fun part of it. When you accept to come here to open the festival,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-dahan/cannes-is-a-sort-of-gladiators-arena-and-that-s-the-fun-part-of-it/) [Olivier Dahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-dahan/) > [The "family" has clearly emerged anew in the late 1970s as a central subject for discussion, debate, research and writing in bothscholarly and popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/the-family-has-clearly-emerged-anew-in-the-late-1970s-as-a-central/) [Sheila Kamerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kamerman/) > [To see classic rock, you had to go to an arena. But punk was happening everywhere, even in little towns in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/to-see-classic-rock-you-had-to-go-to-an-arena-but-punk-was-happening/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [The sidelines are not where you want to live your life. The world needs you in the arena!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/the-sidelines-are-not-where-you-want-to-live-your-life-the-world/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) ## More by Rex Stout > [A person who does not read cannot think. He may have good mental processes, but he has nothing to think about. You can feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/a-person-who-does-not-read-cannot-think-he-may-have-good-mental/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [If I'm home with no chore at hand, and a package of books has come, the television set and the chess board and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/if-i-m-home-with-no-chore-at-hand-and-a-package-of-books-has-come-the/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [To say that man is a reasoning animal is a very different thing than to say that most of man's decisions are based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/to-say-that-man-is-a-reasoning-animal-is-a-very-different-thing-than/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [“Frankly, I wish I could make my heart quit doing an extra thump when Wolfe says satisfactory, Archie. It's childish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/frankly-i-wish-i-could-make-my-heart-quit-doing-an-extra-thump-when/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [What good is an obscenity trial except to popularize literature?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/what-good-is-an-obscenity-trial-except-to-popularize-literature/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [In a world that operates largely at random, coincidences are to be expected, but any one of them must always be mistrusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/in-a-world-that-operates-largely-at-random-coincidences-are-to-be/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [“everything from war to picnics depends on the weather, as Wolfe remarked”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/everything-from-war-to-picnics-depends-on-the-weather-as-wolfe/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [The more you put in your brain, the more it will hold -- if you have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/the-more-you-put-in-your-brain-the-more-it-will-hold-if-you-have-one/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [“When we turned right on Thirty-fifth Street our suffix came along. By the time we rolled to the curb in front of Wolfe's house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/when-we-turned-right-on-thirty-fifth-street-our-suffix-came-along-by/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [What the tongue has promised, the body must submit to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/what-the-tongue-has-promised-the-body-must-submit-to/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [The Glass Key is better than anything Hemingway ever wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/the-glass-key-is-better-than-anything-hemingway-ever-wrote/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [Genius is fine for the ignition spark, but to get there someone has to see that the radiator doesn't leak and no tire is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/genius-is-fine-for-the-ignition-spark-but-to-get-there-someone-has-to/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [A Dickens character to me is a theatrical projection of a character. Not that it isn't real. It's real, but in that removed sense.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/a-dickens-character-to-me-is-a-theatrical-projection-of-a-character/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [“To pronounce French properly you must have within you a deep antipathy, not to say scorn, for some of the most sacred of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/to-pronounce-french-properly-you-must-have-within-you-a-deep/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [“Nothing is obvious in itself. Obviousness is subjective.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/nothing-is-obvious-in-itself-obviousness-is-subjective/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) [Explore all 148 Rex Stout quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) ## More Arena quotes > [The sidelines are not where you want to live your life. The world needs you in the arena!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/the-sidelines-are-not-where-you-want-to-live-your-life-the-world/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [To see classic rock, you had to go to an arena. But punk was happening everywhere, even in little towns in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/to-see-classic-rock-you-had-to-go-to-an-arena-but-punk-was-happening/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [The "family" has clearly emerged anew in the late 1970s as a central subject for discussion, debate, research and writing in bothscholarly and popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/the-family-has-clearly-emerged-anew-in-the-late-1970s-as-a-central/) [Sheila Kamerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kamerman/) > [Cannes is a sort of gladiators' arena, and that's the fun part of it. When you accept to come here to open the festival,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-dahan/cannes-is-a-sort-of-gladiators-arena-and-that-s-the-fun-part-of-it/) [Olivier Dahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-dahan/) > [ We're striving to stay in the arenas. We \[Papa Roach\] had just little things that just took our show a step up and were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-palermo/we-re-striving-to-stay-in-the-arenas-we-papa-roach-had-just-little/) [Tony Palermo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-palermo/) > [The most difficult idea to reconcile in war is the notion that anything is going to be solved by killing a stranger, or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/the-most-difficult-idea-to-reconcile-in-war-is-the-notion-that/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [I've never liked talking about my personal life, ever. Ever since I was 20, I've lived in a kind of public arena; and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-dalton/i-ve-never-liked-talking-about-my-personal-life-ever-ever-since-i-was/) [Timothy Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-dalton/) > [Every NBA arena has six cameras in the ceiling. The question is what does the software do with video feeds? How to surface that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/every-nba-arena-has-six-cameras-in-the-ceiling-the-question-is-what/) [Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/) > [Most of my films I call arena films. I deal with a confined area -- an arena -- and I try to cover every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/most-of-my-films-i-call-arena-films-i-deal-with-a-confined-area-an/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [If you're also in the arena and you're putting your ideas out and you're owning them and you're saying "I disagree with you about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/if-you-re-also-in-the-arena-and-you-re-putting-your-ideas-out-and-you/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [The galleries are full of critics. They play no ball, they fight no fights. They make no mistakes because they attempt nothing. Down in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-shoup/the-galleries-are-full-of-critics-they-play-no-ball-they-fight-no/) [David M. Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-shoup/) > [The rules of survival never change, whether you're in a desert or in an arena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-grylls/the-rules-of-survival-never-change-whether-you-re-in-a-desert-or-in/) [Bear Grylls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-grylls/) > [We live in a very pluralistic society today. There are Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, atheists, Roman Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and Christians like me. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/we-live-in-a-very-pluralistic-society-today-there-are-buddhists/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [I just like playing music and doing it with people that I care about. It doesn't really matter where. 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