“The conservatism of a religion - it's orthodoxy - is the inert coagulum of a once highly reactive sap.” — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Whenever we proclaim the uniqueness of a religion , a truth , a leader, a nation, a race, a part or a… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Spiritual stagnation ensues when man's environment becomes unpredictable or when his inner life is made wholly predictable. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
“Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves.” — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
What Pascal said of an effective religion is true of any effective doctrine: it must be "contrary to nature, to common sense… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Faith is primarily a process of identification; the process by which the individual ceases to be himself and becomes part of something… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The proselytizing fanatic strengthens his own faith by converting others. The creed whose legitimacy is most easily challenged is likely to develop… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Vehemence is the expression of a blind effort to support and uphold something that can never stand on its own. Whether it… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The impression somehow prevails that the true believer, particularly the religious individual, is a humble person. The truth is that the surrendering… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
“The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Proselytizing is more a passionate search for something not yet found than a desire to bestow upon the world something we already… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The atheist is a religious person. He believes in atheism as though it were a new religion. According to Renan, "The day… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
To be ruthless requires belief that our life on earth is but a brief prelude to an afterlife, or a temporary sacrifice… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Faith in humanity, in posterity, in the destiny of one's religion, nation, race, party or family-what is it but the visualization of… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Even the sober desire for progress is sustained by faith—faith in the intrinsic goodness of human nature and in the omnipotence of… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
All mass movements generate in their adherents a readiness to die and a proclivity for united action; all of them, irrespective of… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
“The impression somehow prevails that the true believer, particularly the religious individual, is a humble person. The truth is the surrendering and… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
In man's life, the absence of an essential component usually leads to the adoption of a substitute. The substitute is usually embraced… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
There are similarities between absolute power and absolute faith: a demand for absolute obedience, a readiness to attempt the impossible, a bias… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others. The impression somehow prevails… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Religion is not a matter of God, church, holy cause, etc. These are but accessories. The source of religious preoccupation is in… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Both Faith and Terror are instruments for the elimination of individual self-respect. Terror crushes the autonomy of self-respect, where Faith obtains its… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Those who are in love with the present can be cruel and corrupt but not genuinely vicious. They cannot be methodically and… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
A sublime religion inevitably generates a strong feeling of guilt. There is an unavoidable contrast between loftiness of profession and imperfection of… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
“In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes--courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, etc.--can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others. The impression somehow prevails that the… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
A nation without dregs and malcontents, is orderly, decent, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter — Eric Hoffer Copy Share
