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
It is our talents rusting unused within us that secrete the poison of self-doubt into our bloodstream. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
There is in even the most selfish passion a large element of self-abnegation. It is startling to realize that what we call… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Nothing so bolsters our self-confidence and reconciles us with ourselves as the continuous ability to create; to see things grow and develop… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Crude absurdities, trivial nonsense, and sublime truths are equally potent in readying people for self-sacrifice if they are accepted as the sole,… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Nature is a self-made machine, more perfectly automated than any automated machine. To create something in the image of nature is to… — 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 urge to escape our real self is also an urge to escape the rational and the obvious. — 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
There is need for some kind of make-believe in order to face death unflinchingly. To our real, naked selves there is not… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Only the individual who has come to terms with his self can have a dispassionate attitude toward the world. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The compulsion to take ourselves seriously is in inverse proportion to our creative capacity. When the creative flow dries up, all we… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
It needs some intelligence to be truly selfish. The unintelligent can only be self-righteous. — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
“We can never really be prepared for that which is wholly new. We have to adjust ourselves, and every radical adjustment is… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Excesses are essentially gestures. It is easy to be extremely cruel, magnanimous, humble or self-sacrificing when we see ourselves as actors in… — 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
Self-contempt, however vague, sharpens our eyes for the imperfections of others. We usually strive to reveal in others the blemishes we hide… — 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
The chief burden of the frustrated is the consciousness of a blemished, ineffectual self, and their chief desire is to slough off… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
People whose lives are barren and insecure seem to show a greater willingness to obey than people who are self-sufficient and self-confident.… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
Poverty when coupled with creativeness is usually free of frustration. This is true of the poor artisan skilled in his trade and… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
The ruthlessness born of self-seeking is ineffectual compared with the ruthlessness sustained by dedication to a holy cause. God wishes, said Calvin,… — 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
