Eric Hoffer

Only the individual who has come to terms with his self can have a dispassionate attitude toward the world.

Only the individual who has come to terms with his self can have a dispassionate attitude toward the world.

To our real, naked selves there is not a thing on earth or in heaven worth dying for. It is read more

To our real, naked selves there is not a thing on earth or in heaven worth dying for. It is only when we see ourselves as actors in a staged (and therefore unreal) performance that death loses its frightfulness and finality and becomes an act of make-believe and a theatrical gesture. It is one of the main tasks of a real leader to mask the grim reality of dying and killing by evoking in his followers the illusion that they are participating in a grandiose spectacle, a solemn or lighthearted dramatic performance.

There is a close connection between lack of confidence and the passionate state of mind...

There is a close connection between lack of confidence and the passionate state of mind...

However different the holy causes people die for, they perhaps die basically for the same thing.

However different the holy causes people die for, they perhaps die basically for the same thing.

Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness read more

Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the first question. Social stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of the impulse to ask questions.