Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us. Eric Hoffer More Quotes by Eric Hoffer More Quotes From Eric Hoffer Give people pride and they'll live on bread and water, bless their exploiters, and even die for them. Self-surrender is a transaction of barter: we surrender our sense of human dignity, our judgement, or moral and aesthetic sense for pride. If there is pride in being free, we are ready to die for liberty. If there is pride to be derived from an identification with a leader, we grovel in the dust before a Napoléon, Hitler or Stalin and are ready to die for him. If there is a distinction in suffering we search for martyrdom as for hidden treasure. Eric Hoffer dustprideself A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend. Eric Hoffer defeatedwarenemy People haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited opportunities for both. Eric Hoffer nursingopportunitypeople The Greeks invented logic but were not fooled by it. Eric Hoffer fooledlogicgreek The purpose of philosophers is to show people what is right under their noses. Eric Hoffer purposenosespeople What greater reassurance can the weak have than that they are like anyone else? Eric Hoffer reassurancegreaterweak It is part of the formidableness of a genuine mass movement that the self-sacrifice it promotes includes also a sacrifice of some of the moral sense, which cramps and restrains our nature. Eric Hoffer sacrificemovementself When the Greeks said, Whom the gods love die young, they probably meant, as Lord Sankey suggested, that those favored by the gods stay young till the day they die; young and playful. Eric Hoffer youthgod-lovegreek A plant needs roots in order to grow. With man it is the other way around: only when he grows does he have roots and feels at home in the world. Eric Hoffer homemenorder A low capacity for getting along with those near us often goes hand in hand with a high receptivity to the idea of the brotherhood of men. Eric Hoffer brotherhood-of-manmenideas However different the holy causes people die for, they perhaps die basically for the same thing. Eric Hoffer holinessdifferentpeople Faith in humanity, in posterity, in the destiny of one's religion, nation, race, party or family-what is it but the visualization of that eternal something to which we attach the self that is about to be annihilated? Eric Hoffer destinypartyacceptance In a modern society people can live without hope only when kept dazed and out of breath by incessant hustling. Eric Hoffer balancefaithpeople The wisdom of others remains dull till it is writ over with our own blood. We are essentially apart from the world; it bursts into our consciousness only when it sinks its teeth and nails into us. Eric Hoffer teethwisdomblood Only the individual who has come to terms with his self can have a dispassionate attitude toward the world. Eric Hoffer selfattitudeworld When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other. Originality is deliberate and forced, and partakes of the nature of a protest. A society which gives unlimited freedom to the individual, more often than not attains a disconcerting sameness. Eric Hoffer originalitygivingpeople Though they seem at opposite poles, fanatics of all kinds are actually crowded together at one end. It is the fanatic and the moderate who are poles apart and never meet. Eric Hoffer societytogetheropposites Quite often the social doctors become part of the disease. Eric Hoffer doctorssocietydisease The vigor of a mass movement stems from the propensity of its followers for united action and self-sacrifice. When we ascribe the success of a movement to its faith, doctrine, propaganda, leadership, ruthlessness and so on, we are but referring to instruments of unification and to means used to inculcate a readiness for self-sacrifice. It is perhaps impossible to understand the nature of a mass movement unless it is recognized that their chief preoccupation is to foster, perfect and perpetuate a facility for united action and self-sacrifice. Eric Hoffer sacrificeselfmean One of the surprising privileges of intellectuals is that they are free to be scandalously asinine without harming their reputations. Eric Hoffer reputationprivilegesociety
