Reason

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

...Finally, what is Reason? You have often asked me; and this is my

answer:--

    Whene'er the mist, that stands 'twixt God and thee,

    [Sublimates] to a pure transparency,

    That intercepts no light and adds no stain--

    There Reason is, and then begins her reign!

    But alas!

          -----------'tu stesso, ti fai grosso

          Col falso immaginar, sì che non vedi

          Ciò che vedresti, se l'avessi scosso.'

    (Dante, Paradiso, Canto 1, lines 88-90)