Eric Hoffer

A man's soul is pierced as it were with holes, and as his longings flow through each they are transmuted read more

A man's soul is pierced as it were with holes, and as his longings flow through each they are transmuted into something specific.

The taint inherent in absolute power is not its inhumanity but its antihumanity.

The taint inherent in absolute power is not its inhumanity but its antihumanity.

Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.

Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.

To ripen a person for self-sacrifice he must be stripped of his individual identity and distinctness. He must cease to read more

To ripen a person for self-sacrifice he must be stripped of his individual identity and distinctness. He must cease to be George, Hans, Ivan or Tadao- a human atom with an existence bounded by birth and death. The most drastic way to achieve this end is by complete assimilation of the individual into a collective body. The fully assimilated individual does not see himself and others as human beings. When asked who he is, his automatic response is that he is a German, a Russian, a Japanese, a Christian, a Moslem, a member of a certain tribe or family. He has no purpose, worth and destiny apart from his collective body; and as long as that body lives he cannot really die.

Both the revolutionary and the creative individual are perpetual juveniles. The revolutionary does not grow up because he cannot grow, read more

Both the revolutionary and the creative individual are perpetual juveniles. The revolutionary does not grow up because he cannot grow, while the creative individual cannot grow up because he keeps growing.