People
Nothing contributes so much to tranquilizing the mind as a steady purpose-a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.
— Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
Calm comes from having a clear aim, the passage says. A steady purpose gives the mind something to settle on, like a point the soul can look at with its 'intellectual eye'. The metaphor pictures focus as a steady gaze that quiets restlessness.
Context reviewed