Eric Hoffer

Despair and misery are static factors. The dynamism of an uprising flows from hope and pride. Not actual suffering but read more

Despair and misery are static factors. The dynamism of an uprising flows from hope and pride. Not actual suffering but the hope of better things incites people to revolt.

When we debunk a fanatical faith or prejudice, we do not strike at the root of fanaticism. We merely prevent read more

When we debunk a fanatical faith or prejudice, we do not strike at the root of fanaticism. We merely prevent its leaking out at a certain point, with the likely result that it will leak out at some other point. Thus by denigrating prevailing beliefs and loyalties, the militant man of words unwittingly creates in the disillusioned masses a hunger for faith. For the majority of people cannot endure the barrenness and futility of their lives unless they have some ardent dedication, or some passionate pursuit in which they can lose themselves. Thus, in spite of himself, the scoffing man of words becomes the precursor of a new faith.

The nineteenth century planted the words which the twentieth century ripened into the atrocities of Stalin and Hitler. There is read more

The nineteenth century planted the words which the twentieth century ripened into the atrocities of Stalin and Hitler. There is hardly an atrocity committed in the twentieth century that was not foreshadowed or even advocated by some noble man of words in the nineteenth.

It is the awareness of unfulfilled desires which gives a nation the feeling that it has a mission and a read more

It is the awareness of unfulfilled desires which gives a nation the feeling that it has a mission and a destiny.

It is loneliness that makes the loudest noise. This is true of men as of dogs.

It is loneliness that makes the loudest noise. This is true of men as of dogs.