It is startling to realize how much unbelief is necessary to make belief possible. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
In a modern society people can live without hope only when kept dazed and out of breath by incessant hustling. — 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
The burning conviction that we have a holy duty toward others is often a way of attaching our drowning selves to 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
Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains. — 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
Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Conservatism is sometimes a symptom of sterility. Those who have nothing in them that can grow and develop must cling to what… — 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
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
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
We can be satisfied with moderate confidence in ourselves and with a moderately good opinion of ourselves, but the faith we have… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The uncompromising attitude is more indicative of an inner uncertainty than a deep conviction. The implacable stand is directed more against the… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Faith, enthusiasm, and passionate intensity in general are substitutes for the self-confidence born of experience and the possession of skill. Where there… — 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
“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… — 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 burning conviction that we have a holy duty towards others is often a way of attaching our drowning selves to a… — 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
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
The weak are not a noble breed. Their sublime deeds of faith, daring, and self-sacrifice usually spring from questionable motives. The weak… — 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
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
“Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all the unifying agents. Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The frustrated follow a leader less because of their faith that he is leading them to a promised land than because of… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
When we debunk a fanatical faith or prejudice, we do not strike at the root of fanaticism. We merely prevent its leaking… — 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
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas. — 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 with a… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The best part of the art of living is to know how to grow old gracefully. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
“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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
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 Image
