Quote

To wrong those we hate is to add fuel to our hatred. Conversely, to treat an enemy with magnanimity is to blunt our hatred for him.

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
Despise
Hate
Fuel
Add
Treat
Treats
Conversely
Hatred
Magnanimity
Enemy
Blunt
Wrong

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Naivete in grownups is often charming but when coupled with vanity it is indistinguishable from stupidity.
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Intolerance is the ''Do Not Touch'' sign on something that cannot bear touching. We do not mind having our hair ruffled, but we will not tolerate any familiarity with the toupee which covers our baldness.
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Laughter to begin with was probably glee at the misfortunes of others. The baring of the teeth in laughter hints at its savage ancestry. Animals have no malice, hence also no laughter. They never savor the sudden glory of Schadenfreude. It was its infectious quality that made of laughter a medium of mutuality.
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The best part of the art of living is to know how to grow old gracefully.
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It is loneliness that makes the loudest noise. This is true of men as of dogs.
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The real persuaders are our appetites, our fears and above all our vanity. The skillful propagandist stirs and coaches these internal persuaders.
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Animals can learn, but it is not by learning that they become dogs, cats, or horses. Only man has to learn to become what he is supposed to be.
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Resistance, whether to one's appetites or to the ways of the world, is a chief factor in the shaping of character.
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The real Antichrist is he who turns the wine of an original idea into the water of mediocrity.
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Man is eminently a storyteller. His search for a purpose, a cause, an ideal, a mission and the like is largely a search for a plot and a pattern in the development of his life story - a story that is basically without meaning or pattern.
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Self-righteousness is a manifestation of self-contempt.
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We cannot hate those who we despise.
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It is the acquisition of skills in particular, irrespective of their utility, that is potent in making life meaningful. Since man has no inborn skills, the survival of the species has depended on the ability to acquire and perfect skills. Hence the mastery of skills is a uniquely human activity and yields deep satisfaction.
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The self-despisers are less intent on their own increase than on the diminution of others. Where self-esteem is unobtainable, envy takes the place of greed.
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It is the malady of our age that the young are so busy teaching us that they have no time left to learn.
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Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for lost faith in ourselves.
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The desire to belong is partly a desire to lose oneself.
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A successful social technique consists perhaps in finding unobjectionable means for individual self-assertion.
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All great art is revolutionary because it touches upon the reality of man and questions the reality of the various transitory forms of human society.
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A grievance is most poignant when almost redressed.
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