The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian despot who wants to turn them into puppets.
ERIC HOFFERUnlike 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.
More Eric Hoffer Quotes
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Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power.
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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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To change everything, simply change your attitude.
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All leaders strive to turn their followers into children.
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Someone who thinks the world is always cheating him is right. He is missing that wonderful feeling of trust in someone or something.
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Never have the young taken themselves so seriously, and the calamity is that they are listened to and deferred to by so many adults.
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It is compassion rather than the principle of justice which can guard us against being unjust to our fellow men.
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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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The central task of education is to implant a will and facility for learning; it should produce not learned but learning people. The truly human society is a learning society, where grandparents, parents, and children are students together.
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We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.
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Should Americans begin to hate foreigners wholeheartedly, it will be an indication that they have lost confidence in their own way of life.
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To become different from what we are, we must have some awareness of what we are.
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The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not.
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No matter how noble the objectives of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion; it is an evil government.
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Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.
ERIC HOFFER