clear thinking is the guide of moral character, but it has full power over the emotions.
clear thinking and the Law
30 Consider first the way in which clear thinking shows that it is supreme over the emotions through the exercise of self-control.
31
Self-control means having control over your desires.
32
Some desires come from the inner person, and others come from the body. clear thinking obviously has control over both.
33
Otherwise, how is it that when we are attracted by foods that we aren't allowed to eat, we can walk away from the pleasure that we would get from them? Isn't it because clear thinking is in control over our desires? I think so.
34
We keep our distance when we crave any of the foods that are forbidden to us by the Law, whether it is seafood, birds, animals, or anything else, because of the self-control that comes from clear thinking.
35
The sensible mind curbs the drives of the appetite, keeping them in check, and clear thinking silences the impulses of our bodies.