Eric Hoffer

When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.

When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.

When the Greeks said, "Whom the gods love die young," they probably meant, as Lord Sankey suggested, that those favored read more

When the Greeks said, "Whom the gods love die young," they probably meant, as Lord Sankey suggested, that those favored by the gods stay young till the day they die; young and playful.

Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains.

Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains.

When we debunk a fanatical faith or prejudice, we do not strike at the root of fanaticism. We merely prevent read more

When we debunk a fanatical faith or prejudice, we do not strike at the root of fanaticism. We merely prevent its leaking out at a certain point, with the likely result that it will leak out at some other point. Thus by denigrating prevailing beliefs and loyalties, the militant man of words unwittingly creates in the disillusioned masses a hunger for faith. For the majority of people cannot endure the barrenness and futility of their lives unless they have some ardent dedication, or some passionate pursuit in which they can lose themselves. Thus, in spite of himself, the scoffing man of words becomes the precursor of a new faith.

The chief burden of the frustrated is the consciousness of a blemished, ineffectual self, and their chief desire is to read more

The chief burden of the frustrated is the consciousness of a blemished, ineffectual self, and their chief desire is to slough off the unwanted self and begin a new life. They try to realize this desire either by finding a new identity or by blurring and camouflaging their individual distinctness; and both these ends are reached by imitation.