Eric Hoffer ( 10 of 253 )
When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.
When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.
We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.
We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.
We are unified both by hating in common and by being hated in common.
We are unified both by hating in common and by being hated in common.
The only index by which to judge a government or a way of life is by the quality of the read more
The only index by which to judge a government or a way of life is by the quality of the people it acts upon. No matter how noble the objectives of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion- it is an evil government.
Our quarrel with the world is an echo of the endless quarrel proceeding within us.
Our quarrel with the world is an echo of the endless quarrel proceeding within us.
No one has a right to happiness.
No one has a right to happiness.
Absolute power corrupts even when exercised for humane purposes. The benevolent despot who sees himself as a shepherd of the read more
Absolute power corrupts even when exercised for humane purposes. The benevolent despot who sees himself as a shepherd of the people still demands from others the submissiveness of sheep.
The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it read more
The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new; nor can it keep people persuaded once they have ceased to believe. It penetrates into minds already open, and rather than instill opinion it articulates and justifies opinions already present in the minds of its recipients.
However different the holy causes people die for, they perhaps die basically for the same thing.
However different the holy causes people die for, they perhaps die basically for the same thing.
Conservatism is sometimes a symptom of sterility. Those who have nothing in them that can grow and develop must cling read more
Conservatism is sometimes a symptom of sterility. Those who have nothing in them that can grow and develop must cling to what they have in beliefs, ideas and possessions. The sterile radical, too, is basically conservative. He is afraid to let go of the ideas and beliefs he picked up in his youth lest his life be seen as empty and wasted.
