Eric Hoffer ( 10 of 253 )
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.
It is remarkable by how much a pinch of malice enhances the penetrating power of an idea or an opinion. read more
It is remarkable by how much a pinch of malice enhances the penetrating power of an idea or an opinion. Our ears, it seems, are wonderfully attuned to sneers and evil reports about our fellow men.
Those who lack the capacity to achieve much in an atmosphere of freedom will clamor for power.
Those who lack the capacity to achieve much in an atmosphere of freedom will clamor for power.
It is easier to love humanity than to love your neighbor.
It is easier to love humanity than to love your neighbor.
It is easier to love humanity than to love one's neighbor.
It is easier to love humanity than to love one's neighbor.
The end comes when we no longer talk with ourselves. It is the end of genuine thinking and the beginning read more
The end comes when we no longer talk with ourselves. It is the end of genuine thinking and the beginning of the final loneliness.
There is a fundamental difference between the appeal of a mass movement and the appeal of a practical organization. The read more
There is a fundamental difference between the appeal of a mass movement and the appeal of a practical organization. The practical organization offers opportunities for self-advancement, and its appeal is mainly to self-interest. On the other hand, a mass movement, particularly in its active, revivalist phase, appeals not to those intent on bolstering and advancing a cherished self, but to those who crave to be rid of an unwanted self. A mass movement attracts and holds a following not because it can satisfy the desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy the passion for self-renunciation.
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.
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.
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.
