Eric Hoffer ( 10 of 253 )
The devil personifies not the nature that is around us but the nature that is within us- the infinitely ferocious read more
The devil personifies not the nature that is around us but the nature that is within us- the infinitely ferocious and cunning prehuman creature that is still within us, sealed in the subconscious cellars of the psyche.
The most gifted members of the human species are at their creative best when they cannot have their way, and read more
The most gifted members of the human species are at their creative best when they cannot have their way, and must compensate for what they miss by realizing and cultivating their capacities and talents.
Where things have not changed at all, there is the least likelihood of revolution.
Where things have not changed at all, there is the least likelihood of revolution.
To the frustrated, freedom from responsibility is more attractive than freedom from restraint. They are eager to barter their independence read more
To the frustrated, freedom from responsibility is more attractive than freedom from restraint. They are eager to barter their independence for relief from the burdens of willing, deciding and being responsible for inevitable failure. They willingly abdicate the directing of their lives to those who want to plan, command and shoulder all responsibility.
People who bite the hand that feeds them usually lick the boot that kicks them.
People who bite the hand that feeds them usually lick the boot that kicks them.
It is part of the formidableness of a genuine mass movement that the self-sacrifice it promotes includes also a sacrifice read more
It is part of the formidableness of a genuine mass movement that the self-sacrifice it promotes includes also a sacrifice of some of the moral sense which cramps and restrains our nature.
Laughter to begin with was probably glee at the misfortunes of others. The baring of the teeth in laughter hints read more
Laughter to begin with was probably glee at the misfortunes of others. The baring of the teeth in laughter hints at its savage ancestry. Animals have no malice, hence also no laughter. They never savor the sudden glory of Schadenfreude. It was its infectious quality that made of laughter a medium of mutuality.
There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle read more
There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still have to prove our worth anew each day: we have to prove that we are as good today as we were yesterday. But when we have a valid alibi for not achieving anything we are fixed, so to speak, for life. Moreover, when we have an alibi for not writing a book, painting a picture, and so on, we have an alibi for not writing the greatest book and not painting the greatest picture. Small wonder that the effort expended and the punishment endured in obtaining a good alibi often exceed the effort and grief requisite for the attainment of a most marked achievement.
Only the individual who has come to terms with his self can have a dispassionate attitude toward the world.
Only the individual who has come to terms with his self can have a dispassionate attitude toward the world.
The ideal of self-advancement which the civilizing west offers to backward populations brings with it the plague of individual frustration. read more
The ideal of self-advancement which the civilizing west offers to backward populations brings with it the plague of individual frustration. All the advantages brought by the West are ineffectual substitutes for the sheltering and soothing anonymity of communal existence.
