“The enemy—the indispensible devil of every mass movement—is omnipresent. He plots both outside and inside the ranks of the faithful. It is… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
“The loyalty of the true believer is to the whole -- the church, party, nation -- and not to his fellow true… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
A rising mass movement attracts and holds a following not by its doctrine and promises but by the refuge it offers from… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
One might equate growing up with a mistrust of words. A mature person trusts his eyes more than his ears. Irrationality often… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
True loyalty between individuals is possible only in a loose and relatively free society. — 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
Those who see their lives as spoiled and wasted crave equality and fraternity more than they do freedom. If they clamor for… — Eric Hoffer Copy Share Image
To most of us nothing is so invisible as an unpleasant truth. Though it is held before our eyes, pushed under our… — 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 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
