Quote

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.

Eric Hoffer

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Eric Hoffer
Age: 84 †
Born: 1898
Born: July 25
Died: 1983
Died: May 21
Philosopher
Psychologist
Writer
New York City
New York
Equality
Measure
Tunic
Passion
Distinguishable
Point
Anonymity
Others
Inferiority
Many
Expose
Make
Partly
Thread

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Nowhere at present is there such a measureless loathing of their country by educated people as in America.
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The fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from becoming anything.
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Wise living consists perhaps less in acquiring good habits than in acquiring as few habits as possible.
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Perhaps our originality manifests itself most strikingly in what we do with that which we did not originate. To discover something wholly new can be a matter of chance, of idle tinkering, or even of the chronic dissatisfaction of the untalented.
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We are ready to die for an opinion but not for a fact
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Humility is not renunciation of pride but the substitution of one pride for another.
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What the intellectual craves above all else is to be taken seriously, to be treated as a decisive force in shaping history. He is far more at home in a society that weighs his every word and keeps close watch on his attitudes then in a society that cares not what he says or does. He would rather be persecuted than ignored.
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Where unity and self-sacrifice are indispensable for the normal functioning of society, everyday life is likely to be either religiofied (common tasks turned into holy causes) or militarized.
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Call not that man wretched, who whatever ills he suffers, has a child to love.
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