Eric Hoffer quotes - page 2

Every extreme attitude is a flight from the self. (Eric Hoffer)
Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. View quote
Eric Hoffer
We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand. View quote
Eric Hoffer
Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there. View quote
Eric Hoffer
Learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. View quote
Eric Hoffer
Add a few drops of venom to a half truth and you have an absolute truth. View quote
Eric Hoffer
Our passionate preoccupation with the sky, the stars, and a God somewhere in outer space is a homing impulse. We are drawn back to where we came from. View quote
Eric Hoffer
The real persuaders are our appetites, our fears and above all our vanity. The skillful propagandist stirs and coaches these internal persuaders. View quote
Eric Hoffer
There would be no society if living together depended upon understanding each other. View quote
Eric Hoffer
It still holds true that man is most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities. View quote
Eric Hoffer
The Paleolithic hunters who painted the unsurpassed animal murals on the ceiling of the cave at Altamira had only rudimentary tools. Art is older than production for use, and play older than work. Man was shaped less by what he had to do than by what he did in playful moments. It is the child in man that is the source of his uniqueness and creativeness, and the playground is the optimal milieu for the unfolding of his capacities. (Eric Hoffer)
The weakness of a soul is proportionate to the number of truths that must be kept from it. View quote
Eric Hoffer
Charlatanism of some degree is indispensable to effective leadership. View quote
Eric Hoffer
To dispose a soul to action we must upset its equilibrium. View quote
Eric Hoffer
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. View quote
Eric Hoffer
We usually see only the things we are looking for - so much so that we sometimes see them where they are not. View quote
Eric Hoffer
The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not. View quote
Eric Hoffer
It is easier to love humanity than to love your neighbor. View quote
Eric Hoffer
To spell out the obvious is often to call it into question. View quote
Eric Hoffer
Many of the insights of the saint stem from their experience as sinners. View quote
Eric Hoffer
We feel free when we escape - even if it be but from the frying pan to the fire. (Eric Hoffer)
It is probably true that business corrupts everything it touches. It corrupts politics, sports, literature, art, labor unions and so on. but business also corrupts and undermines monolithic totalitarianism. Capitalism is at its liberating best in a noncapitalist environment. View quote
Eric Hoffer
Whenever we proclaim the uniqueness of a religion, a truth, a leader, a nation, a race, a part or a holy cause, we are also proclaiming our own uniqueness. View quote
Eric Hoffer
The history of this country was made largely by people who wanted to be left alone. Those who could not thrive when left to themselves never felt at ease in America. View quote
Eric Hoffer
Nonconformists travel as a rule in bunches. You rarely find a nonconformist who goes it alone. And woe to him inside a nonconformist clique who does not conform with nonconformity. View quote
Eric Hoffer