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    A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague.

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  10  /  13  

Never soar aloft on an enemy's pinions.

Never soar aloft on an enemy's pinions.

by Aesop Found in: Society Quotes,
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  9  /  12  

Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.

Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.

by Henry Kaiser Found in: Society Quotes,
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  8  /  17  

Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world.

Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world.

by Cesare Pavese Found in: Society Quotes,
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  27  /  20  

You also, O son Brutus.
[Lat., Et tu, Brute fili.]

You also, O son Brutus.
[Lat., Et tu, Brute fili.]

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  8  /  19  

The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, read more

The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up. And one of the games to which it is most attached is called, ''Keep tomorrow dark,'' and which is also named (by the rustics in Shropshire, I have no doubt) ''Cheat the Prophet.'' The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men have to say about what is to happen in the next generation. The players then wait until all the clever men are dead, and bury them nicely. Then they go and do something else. That is all. For a race of simple tastes, however, it is great fun.

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What the intellectual craves above all else is to be taken seriously, to be treated as a decisive force in read more

What the intellectual craves above all else is to be taken seriously, to be treated as a decisive force in shaping history. He is far more at home in a society that weighs his every word and keeps close watch on his attitudes then in a society that cares not what he says or does. He would rather be persecuted than ignored.

by Eric Hoffer Found in: Society Quotes,
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A doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The fanatical read more

A doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The fanatical believer is not conscious of his envy, malice, pettiness and dishonesty. There is a wall of words between his consciousness and his real self.

by Eric Hoffer Found in: Society Quotes,
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Proselytizing is more a passionate search for something not yet found than a desire to bestow upon the world something read more

Proselytizing is more a passionate search for something not yet found than a desire to bestow upon the world something we already have. It is a search for a final and irrefutable demonstration that our absolute truth is indeed the one and only truth. The proselytizing fanatic strengthens his own faith by converting others.

by Eric Hoffer Found in: Society Quotes,
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Without speculation there is no good and original observation.

Without speculation there is no good and original observation.

by Charles Darwin Found in: Society Quotes,
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