"The rational mind of man is a shallow thing, a shore upon a continent of the irrational, wherein thin colonies of reason have settled amid a savage world"

Wilford O. Cross's quote looks into the intricate relationship between reason and the fundamental impracticality within the human mind. The metaphor of the rational mind as a "shallow thing" recommends that our capability for factor is limited and superficial compared to the vast depths of irrationality that lie underneath. This images of a coast upon a continent indicates a limit or margin, where the familiar meets the unknown, suggesting that our reasonable thoughts are but a narrow band compared to the extensive and untamed world of feelings, impulses, and subconscious drives that influence human behavior.

"The thin nests of reason" shows the precarious and tentative nature of human rationality. Colonies evoke a sense of settlements that are vulnerable, separated, and potentially vulnerable in the middle of a larger, untamed environment. This evokes the concept that logic and factor have actually been cultivated to create order and understanding, yet they still exist in the middle of a more powerful and unmanageable force-- the "savage world" of impracticality. The word "savage" indicates something wild and unrestrained, indicating that the unreasonable aspects of human nature are primal and not quickly tamed or understood by easy logic.

Cross seems to be stressing the duality of human nature, where reasonable thought efforts to impose order and structure on the disorderly and frequently unreasonable tendencies that lie below. This can be translated as a care against overstating the power and reach of human reason, acknowledging the extensive impact of the subconscious mind.

In general, the quote challenges us to reflect on how much of our behavior is really governed by logical idea and just how much is affected by much deeper, uncharted mental currents. It motivates an approval of the complexity of the human condition, where factor and irrationality coexist and shape our understanding of the world and ourselves.