Eric Hoffer ( 10 of 253 )
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.
Whence come these hatreds...? They are an expression of a desperate effort to suppress an awareness of our inadequacy, worthlessness, read more
Whence come these hatreds...? They are an expression of a desperate effort to suppress an awareness of our inadequacy, worthlessness, guilt and other shortcomings of the self. Self-contempt is here transmuted into hatred of others- and there is a most determined and persistent effort to mask this switch.
Commitment becomes hysterical when those who have nothing to give advocate generosity, and those who have nothing to give up read more
Commitment becomes hysterical when those who have nothing to give advocate generosity, and those who have nothing to give up preach renunciation.
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...
The taint inherent in absolute power is not its inhumanity but its antihumanity.
The taint inherent in absolute power is not its inhumanity but its antihumanity.
What monstrosities would walk the streets were some people's faces as unfinished as their minds.
What monstrosities would walk the streets were some people's faces as unfinished as their minds.
When we are in competition with ourselves, and match our todays against our yesterdays, we derive encouragement from past misfortunes read more
When we are in competition with ourselves, and match our todays against our yesterdays, we derive encouragement from past misfortunes and blemishes. Moreover, the competition with ourselves leaves unimpaired our benevolence toward our fellow men.
The game of History is usually played by the best and the worst over the heads of thr majority in read more
The game of History is usually played by the best and the worst over the heads of thr majority in the middle.
Lack of sensitivity is perhaps basically an unawareness of ourselves.
Lack of sensitivity is perhaps basically an unawareness of ourselves.
The burning conviction that we have a holy duty towards others is often a way of attaching our drowning selves read more
The burning conviction that we have a holy duty towards others is often a way of attaching our drowning selves to a passing raft. What looks like a giving hand is often a holding on for dear life. Take away our holy duties and you leave our lives puny and meaningless. There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice utmost humility, is boundless.
