Eric Hoffer ( 10 of 253 )
When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.
When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.
You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.
You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.
There is a guilty conscience behind every brazen word and act and behind every manifestation of self-righteousness.
There is a guilty conscience behind every brazen word and act and behind every manifestation of self-righteousness.
The unpredictability inherent in human affairs is due largely to the fact that the by-products of a human process are read more
The unpredictability inherent in human affairs is due largely to the fact that the by-products of a human process are more fateful than the product.
The leader has to be practical and a realist, yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.
The leader has to be practical and a realist, yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.
It is easier to love humanity than to love your neighbor.
It is easier to love humanity than to love your neighbor.
The awareness of their individual blemishes and shortcomings inclines the frustrated to detect ill will and meanness in their fellow read more
The awareness of their individual blemishes and shortcomings inclines the frustrated to detect ill will and meanness in their fellow men. Self-contempt, however vague, sharpens our eyes for the imperfections of others. We usually strive to reveal in others the blemishes we hide in ourselves.
Unlike the pattern which seems to prevail in the rest of life, in the human species the weak not only read more
Unlike the pattern which seems to prevail in the rest of life, in the human species the weak not only survive but often triumph over the strong. The self-hatred inherent in the weak unlocks energies far more formidable then those mobilized by an ordinary struggle for existence.
Fair play with others is primarily the practice of not blaming them for anything that is wrong with us. We read more
Fair play with others is primarily the practice of not blaming them for anything that is wrong with us. We tend to rub our guilty conscience against others the way we wipe dirty fingers on a rag. This is as evil a misuse of others as the practice of exploitation.
Animals can learn, but it is not by learning that they become dogs, cats, or horses. Only man has to read more
Animals can learn, but it is not by learning that they become dogs, cats, or horses. Only man has to learn to become what he is supposed to be.
