Eric Hoffer

Unless a man has talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden. Of what avail is freedom read more

Unless a man has talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden. Of what avail is freedom to choose if the self be ineffectual? We join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility, or, in the words of the ardent young Nazi, "to be free from freedom.".

There is a close connection between lack of confidence and the passionate state of mind...

There is a close connection between lack of confidence and the passionate state of mind...

The chief burden of the frustrated is the consciousness of a blemished, ineffectual self, and their chief desire is to read more

The chief burden of the frustrated is the consciousness of a blemished, ineffectual self, and their chief desire is to slough off the unwanted self and begin a new life. They try to realize this desire either by finding a new identity or by blurring and camouflaging their individual distinctness; and both these ends are reached by imitation.

We have rudiments of reverence for the human body, but we consider as nothing the rape of the human mind.

We have rudiments of reverence for the human body, but we consider as nothing the rape of the human mind.

How frighteningly few are the persons whose death would spoil our appetite and make the world seem empty.

How frighteningly few are the persons whose death would spoil our appetite and make the world seem empty.