Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for lost faith in ourselves.
ERIC HOFFERWhere freedom is real, equality is the passion of the masses. Where equality is real, freedom is the passion of a small minority.
More Eric Hoffer Quotes
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Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many.
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The passion for equality is partly a passion for anonymity: to be one thread of the many which make up a tunic; one thread not distinguishable from the others. No one can then point us out, measure us against others and expose our inferiority.
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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.
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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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We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.
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Rudeness is the weak man’s limitation of strength.
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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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When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.
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Up to now, America has not been a good milieu for the rise of a mass movement. What starts out here as a mass movement ends up as a racket, a cult, or a corporation.
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Death has but one terror, that it has no tomorrow.
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The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas.
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Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the first question.
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Communists are frustrated capitalists.
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What monstrosities would walk the streets were some people’s faces as unfinished as their minds.
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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.
ERIC HOFFER