Eric Hoffer ( 10 of 253 )
Rudeness luxuriates in the absence of self-respect.
Rudeness luxuriates in the absence of self-respect.
Our greatest weariness comes from work not done.
Our greatest weariness comes from work not done.
The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim read more
The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause.
To ripen a person for self-sacrifice he must be stripped of his individual identity and distinctness. He must cease to read more
To ripen a person for self-sacrifice he must be stripped of his individual identity and distinctness. He must cease to be George, Hans, Ivan or Tadao- a human atom with an existence bounded by birth and death. The most drastic way to achieve this end is by complete assimilation of the individual into a collective body. The fully assimilated individual does not see himself and others as human beings. When asked who he is, his automatic response is that he is a German, a Russian, a Japanese, a Christian, a Moslem, a member of a certain tribe or family. He has no purpose, worth and destiny apart from his collective body; and as long as that body lives he cannot really die.
Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves.
Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves.
Thus we find that people who fail in everyday affairs show a tendency to reach out for the impossible. They read more
Thus we find that people who fail in everyday affairs show a tendency to reach out for the impossible. They become responsive to grandiose schemes, and will display unequaled steadfastness, formidable energies and a special fitness in the performance of tasks which would stump superior people. It seems paradoxical that defeat in dealing with the possible should embolden people to attempt the impossible, but a familiarity with the mentality of the weak reveals that what seems a path of daring is actually an easy way out: It is to escape the responsibility for failure that the weak so eagerly throw themselves into grandiose undertakings. For when we fail in attaining the impossible we are justified in attributing it to the magnitude of the task.
It is not actual suffering but a taste of better things which excites people to revolt.
It is not actual suffering but a taste of better things which excites people to revolt.
We clamor for equality chiefly in matters in which we ourselves cannot hope to attain excellence. To discover what a read more
We clamor for equality chiefly in matters in which we ourselves cannot hope to attain excellence. To discover what a man truly craves but knows he cannot have we must find the field in which he advocates absolute equality. By this test Communists are frustrated Capitalists.
It is a juvenile notion that a society needs a lofty purpose and a shining vision to achieve much. Both read more
It is a juvenile notion that a society needs a lofty purpose and a shining vision to achieve much. Both in the marketplace and on the battlefield men who set their hearts on toys have often displayed unequal initiative and drive. And one must be ignorant of the creative process to look for a close correspondence between motive and achievement in the world of thought and imagination.
We have perhaps a natural fear of ends. We would rather be always on the way than arrive. Given the read more
We have perhaps a natural fear of ends. We would rather be always on the way than arrive. Given the means, we hang on to them and often forget the ends.
