Eric Hoffer ( 10 of 253 )
Every intense desire is perhaps a desire to be different from what we are.
Every intense desire is perhaps a desire to be different from what we are.
Despair and misery are static factors. The dynamism of an uprising flows from hope and pride. Not actual suffering but read more
Despair and misery are static factors. The dynamism of an uprising flows from hope and pride. Not actual suffering but the hope of better things incites people to revolt.
The genuine creator creates something that has a life of its own, something that can exist and function without him. read more
The genuine creator creates something that has a life of its own, something that can exist and function without him. This is true not only of the writer, artist and scientist, but of creators in other fields...With the noncreative it is the other way around: in whatever they do, they arrange things so that they themselves become indispensable.
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.
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.
The individual's most vital need is to prove his worth, and this usually means an insatiable hunger for action. For read more
The individual's most vital need is to prove his worth, and this usually means an insatiable hunger for action. For it is only the few who can acquire a sense of worth by developing and employing their capacities and talents. The majority prove their worth by keeping busy.
It would be difficult to exaggerate the degree to which we are influenced by those we influence.
It would be difficult to exaggerate the degree to which we are influenced by those we influence.
To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of read more
To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance.
We cannot hate those who we despise.
We cannot hate those who we despise.
The monstrous evils of the twentieth century have shown us that the greediest money grubbers are gentle doves compared with read more
The monstrous evils of the twentieth century have shown us that the greediest money grubbers are gentle doves compared with money-hating wolves like Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler, who in less than three decades killed or maimed nearly a hundred million men, women, and children and brought untold suffering to a large portion of mankind.
