Eric Hoffer

Showing quotations 1 to 20 of 20 total Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power. Eric HofferAction is at bottom a swinging and flailing of the arms to regain one's balance and keep afloat. Eric HofferIt is a sign of a creeping inner death when we no longer can praise the living. Eric HofferIt is thus with most of us; we are what other people say we are. We know ourselves chiefly by hearsay. Eric HofferIt still holds true that man is most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities. Eric HofferOur greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there. Eric HofferPower corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many. Eric HofferRetribution often means that we eventually do to ourselves what we have done unto others. Eric HofferRudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength. Eric Hoffer The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not. Eric Hoffer The Paleolithic hunters who painted the unsurpassed animal murals on the ceiling of the cave at Altamira had only rudimentary tools. Art is older than production for use, and play older than work. Man was shaped less by what he had to do than by what he did in playful moments. It is the child in man that is the source of his uniqueness and creativeness, and the playground is the optimal milieu for the unfolding of his capacities. Eric HofferWe are more ready to try the untried when what we do is inconsequential. Hence the fact that many inventions had their birth as toys. Eric Hoffer We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents. Eric HofferWe 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. Eric HofferWe lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves. Eric HofferWhen people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other. Eric HofferYou can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you. Eric Hoffer The poor on the borderline of starvation live purposeful lives. To be engaged in a desperate struggle for food and shelter is to be wholly free from a sense of futility. Eric Hoffer, "The True Believer", 1951A preoccupation with the future not only prevents us from seeing the present as it is but often prompts us to rearrange the past. Eric Hoffer, The Passionate State of Mind, 1954 It is when power is wedded to chronic fear that it becomes formidable. Eric Hoffer, The Passionate State of Mind, 1954

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