To lose one's life is but to lose the present; and, clearly, to lose a defiled, worthless present is not to lose much. Eric Hoffer More Quotes by Eric Hoffer More Quotes From Eric Hoffer The ignorant are a reservoir of daring. It almost seems that those who have yet to discover the known are particularly equipped for dealing with the unknown. The unlearned have often rushed in where the learned feared to tread, and it is the credulous who are tempted to attempt the impossible. They know not whither they are going, and give chance a chance. Eric Hoffer ignorantatheismgiving An easygoing person is probably more accessible to the realization of eternity--the endless flow of life and death--than one who takes his prospects and duties overseriously. It is the overserious who are truly frivolous. Eric Hoffer life-and-deathflowrealization The main effect of a real revolution is perhaps that it sweeps away those who do not know how to wish, and brings to the front men with insatiable appetites for action, power and all that the world has to offer. Eric Hoffer realwishmen Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others. Eric Hoffer originalityshows Craving, not having, is the mother of a reckless giving of oneself. Eric Hoffer literaturemothergiving We have rudiments of reverence for the human body, but we consider as nothing the rape of the human mind. Eric Hoffer reverencebodymind There is probably nothing more sublime than discontent transmuted into a work of art, a scientific discovery, and so on. Eric Hoffer creativediscoveryart It is a talent of the weak to persuade themselves that they suffer for something when they suffer from something; that they are showing the way when they are running away; that they see the light when they feel the heat; that they are chosen when they are shunned. Eric Hoffer perspectivelightrunning When we lose our individual independence in the corporateness of a mass movement, we find a new freedom — freedom to hate, bully, lie, torture, murder and betray without shame and remorse. Eric Hoffer bullyhatelying People in a hurry cannot think, cannot grow, nor can they decay. They are preserved in a state of perpetual puerility. Eric Hoffer decaypeoplethinking To the excessively fearful the chief characteristic of power is its arbitrariness. Man had to gain enormously in confidence before he could conceive an all-powerful God who obeys his own laws. Eric Hoffer powerfullawmen The most troublesome problem which confronts social engineering is how to provide for the untalented and, what is equally important, how to provide against them. Eric Hoffer engineeringimportantproblem Though dissenters seem to question everything in sight, they are actually bundles of dusty answers and never conceived a new question. What offends us most in the literature of dissent is the lack of hesitation and wonder. Eric Hoffer literaturesightanswers We find it hard to apply the knowledge of ourselves to our judgment of others. The fact that we are never of one kind, that we never love without reservations and never hate with all our being cannot prevent us from seeing others as wholly black or white. Eric Hoffer hateloveknowledge Often, the thing we pursue most passionately is but a substitute for the one thing we really want and cannot have. Eric Hoffer pursuesubstituteswant We can remember minutely and precisely only the things which never really happened to us. Eric Hoffer happenedremember There is need for some kind of make-believe in order to face death unflinchingly. To our real, naked selves there is not a thing on earth or in heaven worth dying for. Eric Hoffer realbelievedeath One of the marks of a truly vigorous society is the ability to dispense with passion as a midwife of action - the ability to pass directly from thought to action. Eric Hoffer markpassionaction The superficiality of many is a result of deep fears. It takes spare time to think things out; it takes free time to mature. People in a hurry may not think well or mature well. The next best is a state of perpetual puerility. Eric Hoffer maypeoplethinking In an adequate social order, the untalented should be able to acquire a sense of usefulness and of growth without interfering with the development of talent around them Eric Hoffer growthdevelopmentorder
