--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our greatest pretenses are built up not…" description: "\"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 ther..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/eric-hoffer-343_emptiness_our-greatest-pretenses-are-built-up-not_291757.jpg" --- # Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil… ![“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.” quote by Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/eric-hoffer-343_emptiness_our-greatest-pretenses-are-built-up-not_291757.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/eric-hoffer-343_emptiness_our-greatest-pretenses-are-built-up-not_291757.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/eric-hoffer-343_emptiness_our-greatest-pretenses-are-built-up-not_291757.jpg) > “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.” [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People construct pretenses to conceal inner emptiness, which is harder to hide than visible flaws. **In simple terms:** We hide our emptiness more than our sins. Key Takeaway Recognize and address inner voids directly. Themes psychology self‑awareness authenticity Mood introspective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - therapy - personal growth - leadership training Key Concepts Existentialism defense mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - What emptiness do you mask with achievements? - How can honest self‑examination improve relationships? A Different Perspective Denial can prevent confronting the emptiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Emptiness Hardest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness-hardest-2805282/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Hardest thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardest-thing/) [Hide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hide/) [Hide Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hide-evil-2805281/) [Thing Hide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-hide-1982609/) [Ugly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugly/) ## Related quotes > [“A pretty face can sometimes hide an evil mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-amo/a-pretty-face-can-sometimes-hide-an-evil-mind/) [Thomas Amo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-amo/) > [Liking somebody is a good thing. So why hide it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hope/liking-somebody-is-a-good-thing-so-why-hide-it/) [Amber Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hope/) > [It was one thing to hide away from the world. It was quite another to discover the world didn't miss you when you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lee-martinez/it-was-one-thing-to-hide-away-from-the-world-it-was-quite-another-to/) [A. Lee Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lee-martinez/) > [Like people hide evil inside them I hid good inside me...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sky/like-people-hide-evil-inside-them-i-hid-good-inside-me/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sky/) > [Beware of pretty faces that you find, a pretty face can hide an evil mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-ramistella/beware-of-pretty-faces-that-you-find-a-pretty-face-can-hide-an-evil/) [Johnny Ramistella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-ramistella/) > [“Pretty words cannot always hide the evil that man holds inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sai-marie-johnson/pretty-words-cannot-always-hide-the-evil-that-man-holds-inside/) [Sai Marie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sai-marie-johnson/) > [It's a very American thing to hide away from death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fincher/it-s-a-very-american-thing-to-hide-away-from-death/) [David Fincher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fincher/) > [It's the face and the body and the thing that we hide inside that can keep us from the world, but my voice is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idina-menzel/it-s-the-face-and-the-body-and-the-thing-that-we-hide-inside-that-can/) [Idina Menzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idina-menzel/) > [One thing you can't hide - is when you're crippled inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/one-thing-you-can-t-hide-is-when-you-re-crippled-inside/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [Of course we look for our own path and try to hide from everything evil and vicious. But remember one thing: No matter how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-course-we-look-for-our-own-path-and-try-to-hide-from-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was barely breathing now, my head felt light. I stumbled to the nearest bench and I clasped my hands together, my fingers gripping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-thiel/i-was-barely-breathing-now-my-head-felt-light-i-stumbled-to-the/) [Tamara Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-thiel/) > [How frighteningly few are the persons whose death would spoil our appetite and make the world seem empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/how-frighteningly-few-are-the-persons-whose-death-would-spoil-our/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [My worst trait is that I'm an introvert. When I've led stuff, the hardest thing for me to overcome has been my natural desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shonda-rhimes/my-worst-trait-is-that-i-m-an-introvert-when-i-ve-led-stuff-the/) [Shonda Rhimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shonda-rhimes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) ## More by Eric Hoffer > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/we-lie-the-loudest-when-we-lie-to-ourselves/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-creative-mind-is-the-playful-mind-philosophy-is-the-play-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The best part of the art of living is to know how to grow old gracefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-best-part-of-the-art-of-living-is-to-know-how-to-grow-old/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/in-the-alchemy-of-man-s-soul-almost-all-noble-attributes-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-act-of-self-denial-seems-to-confer-on-us-the-right-to-be-harsh/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A nation without dregs and malcontents, is orderly, decent, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-nation-without-dregs-and-malcontents-is-orderly-decent-peaceful-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/compassion-alone-stands-apart-from-the-continuous-traffic-between/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-are-many-who-find-a-good-alibi-far-more-attractive-than-an/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-war-is-not-won-if-the-defeated-enemy-has-not-been-turned-into-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/man-is-the-only-creature-that-strives-to-surpass-himself-and-yearns/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning-man-s-efforts-is-without/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) [Explore all 658 Eric Hoffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) [aryadeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aryadeva/) > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. 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