A rational man never distorts or corrupts his own standards and judgment in order to appeal to the irrationality, stupidity, or dishonesty of others. Ayn Rand
The rational man finds that his share of the cost of the wastes he discharges into the commons is less than the cost of purifying his wastes before releasing them. Garrett Hardin
Our interests require that Egypt should remain what it is, an integral part of the Turkish empire. We do not want it or wish it for ourselves, any more than any rational man with an estate in the North of England and a residence in the South would have wished to possess the inns on the North Road. Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Art is man's metaphysical mirror; what a rational man seeks to see in that mirror is a salute; what an irrational man seeks to see is a justification – even if only a justification of his depravity, as a last convulsion of his betrayed self-esteem. Ayn Rand
A rational man acting in the real world may be defined as one who decides where he will strike a balance between what he desires and what can be done. Walter Lippmann
The rational man may talk a good game about suicide, but reason must give way to obsession and finally squalor before he can actually do it. Wilfrid Sheed