Eric Hoffer ( 10 of 253 )
The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian read more
The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian despot who wants to turn them into puppets.
When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous read more
When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.
The fanatic is not really a stickler to principle. He embraces a cause not primarily because of its justness or read more
The fanatic is not really a stickler to principle. He embraces a cause not primarily because of its justness or holiness but because of his desperate need for something to hold onto.
Freedom means freedom from forces and circumstances which would turn man into a thing, which would impose on man the read more
Freedom means freedom from forces and circumstances which would turn man into a thing, which would impose on man the passivity and predictability of matter. By this test, absolute power is the manifestation most inimical to human uniqueness. Absolute power wants to turn people into malleable clay.
The nineteenth century planted the words which the twentieth century ripened into the atrocities of Stalin and Hitler. There is read more
The nineteenth century planted the words which the twentieth century ripened into the atrocities of Stalin and Hitler. There is hardly an atrocity committed in the twentieth century that was not foreshadowed or even advocated by some noble man of words in the nineteenth.
We cannot hate those who we despise.
We cannot hate those who we despise.
In every passionate pursuit, the pursuit counts more than the object pursued.
In every passionate pursuit, the pursuit counts more than the object pursued.
We probably have a greater love for those we support than for those who support us. Our vanity carries greater read more
We probably have a greater love for those we support than for those who support us. Our vanity carries greater weight than our self-interest.
Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know. One read more
Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know. One often obtains a clue to a person's nature by discovering the reasons for his or her imperviousness to certain impressions.
Nature attains perfection, but man never does. There is a perfect ant, a perfect bee, but man is perpetually unfinished. read more
Nature attains perfection, but man never does. There is a perfect ant, a perfect bee, but man is perpetually unfinished. He is both an unfinished animal and an unfinished man. It is this incurable unfinishedness which sets man apart from other living things. For, in the attempt to finish himself, man becomes a creator. Moreover, the incurable unfinishedness keeps man perpetually immature, perpetually capable of learning and growing.
