The Greeks invented logic but were not fooled by it. Eric Hoffer More Quotes by Eric Hoffer More Quotes From Eric Hoffer Good writing , like gold , combines lustrous lucidity with high density. What this means is good writing is packed with hints. Eric Hoffer gold writing mean A multitude of words is probably the most formidable means of blurring and obscuring thought. There is no thought, however momentous, that cannot be expressed lucidly in 200 words. Eric Hoffer formidable multitudes mean Some people have no original ideas because they do not think well enough of themselves to consider their ideas worth noticing and developing. Eric Hoffer people ideas thinking A good sentence is a key . It unlocks the mind of the reader. Eric Hoffer reader keys mind The impulse to think, to philosophize and spin beauty and brilliance out of mind and soul, is somehow the offspring of resistance of an effort to overcome an apparently insurmountable obstacle. Hence cultural creativeness is more likely to flourish in an atmosphere of restriction, of an imposed pattern of thought and behavior, than in one of total freedom. Eric Hoffer effort soul thinking We are ready to die for an opinion but not for a fact: indeed, it is by our readiness to die that we try to prove the factualness of our opinion. Eric Hoffer opinion trying facts Our doubts about ourselves cannot be banished except by working at that which is the one and only thing we know we ought to do. Other people's assertions cannot silence the howling dirge within us. It is our talents rusting unused within us that secrete the poison of self-doubt into our bloodstream. Eric Hoffer silence self people This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. Our most persistent and spectacular efforts are concerned not with the preservation of what we are but with the building up of an imaginary conception of ourselves in the opinion of others. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter. Eric Hoffer building-up effort men What merit there is in my thinking is derived from two peculiarities: (1) My inability to be familiar with anything. I simply can't take things for granted. (2) My endless patience. I assume that the only way to find an answer is to hang on long enough and keep groping. Eric Hoffer two long thinking We are least open to precise knowledge concerning the things we are most vehement about. Eric Hoffer vehement diversity literature The sick in soul insist that it is humanity that is sick, and they are the surgeons to operate on it. They want to turn the world into a sickroom. And once they get humanity strapped to the operating table, they operate on it with an ax. Eric Hoffer sick soul humanity Whenever we proclaim the uniqueness of a religion , a truth , a leader, a nation, a race, a part or a holy cause, we are also proclaiming our own uniqueness. Eric Hoffer causes leader race God alone is satisfied with what He is and can proclaim: "I am what I am." Unlike God, man strives with all his might to be what he is not. He incessantly proclaims: "I am what I am not. Eric Hoffer strive might men To spell out the obvious is often to call it in question. Eric Hoffer spells obvious work The end comes when we no longer talk with ourselves. It is the end of genuine thinking and the beginning of the final loneliness. The remarkable thing is that the cessation of the inner dialogue marks also the end of our concern with the world around us. It is as if we noted the world and think about it only when we have to report it to ourselves. Eric Hoffer sadness loneliness thinking Good and evil grow up together and are bound in an equilibrium that cannot be sundered. The most we can do is try to tilt the equilibrium toward the good. Eric Hoffer growing-up evil trying We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails. Eric Hoffer protest cures needs Perhaps a modern society can remain stable only by eliminating adolescence, by giving its young, from the age of ten, the skills, responsibilities, and rewards of grownups, and opportunities for action in all spheres of life. Adolescence should be a time of useful action, while book learning and scholarship should be a preoccupation of adults. Eric Hoffer learning life book people with a sense of fulfillment think it is a good world and would like to conserve it as it is, while the frustrated favor radical change. Eric Hoffer frustrated people thinking Those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophecies come true, but they can also lie and make their lies come true. Eric Hoffer government power lying
