Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power.
ERIC HOFFERChildren are the keys of paradise.
More Eric Hoffer Quotes
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One of the surprising privileges of intellectuals is that they are free to be scandalously asinine without harming their reputations.
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Unlike the pattern which seems to prevail in the rest of life, in the human species the weak not only survive but often triumph over the strong. The self-hatred inherent in the weak unlocks energies far more formidable then those mobilized by an ordinary struggle for existence.
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One of the chief differences between an adult and a juvenile is that the adult knows when he is an ass while the juvenile never does.
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For many people, an excuse is better than an achievement because an achievement, no matter how great, leaves you having to prove yourself again in the future; but an excuse can last for life.
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A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people’s business.
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An empty head is not really empty; it is stuffed with rubbish. Hence the difficulty of forcing anything into an empty head.
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Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.
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To change everything, simply change your attitude.
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A passionate obsession with the outside world or the private lives of others is an attempt to compensate for a lack of meaning in one’s own life.
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Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.
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Nature is a self-made machine, more perfectly automated than any automated machine. To create something in the image of nature is to create a machine, and it was by learning the inner working of nature that man became a builder of machines.
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There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice utmost humility, is boundless.
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Self-contempt, however vague, sharpens our eyes for the imperfections of others. We usually strive to reveal in others the blemishes we hide in ourselves.
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We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand.
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The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.
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To learn you need a certain degree of confidence, not too much and not too little. If you have too little confidence, you will think you can’t learn. If you have too much, you will think you don’t have to learn.
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You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.
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We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents.
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We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.
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The basic test of freedom is perhaps less in what we are free to do than in what we are free not to do.
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The hardest thing to cope with is not selfishness or vanity or deceitfulness, but sheer stupidity.
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Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil.
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The trouble is not chiefly that our universities are unfit for students but that many present-day students are unfit for universities.
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The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas.
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Add a few drops of venom to a half truth and you have an absolute truth.
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Language was invented to ask questions.
ERIC HOFFER