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Unless a man has the talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden.

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
Freedom
Something
Make
Irksome
Men
Talents
Burden
Unless
Talent
Liberty

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The less satisfaction we derive from being ourselves, the greater is our desire to be like others.
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Mass movements do not usually rise until the prevailing order has been discredited.
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Judgment consists not in seeing through deceptions and evil intentions, but in being able to awaken the decency dormant in every person.
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Collective unity is not the result of the brotherly love of the faithful for each other. The loyalty of the true believer is to the whole the church, party, nation and not to his fellow true believer. True loyalty between individuals is possible only in a loose and relatively free society .
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The misery of a child is interesting to a mother, the misery of a young man is interesting to a young woman, the misery of an old man is interesting to nobody.
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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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In human affairs, the best stimulus for running ahead is to have something we must run from.
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If the Communists win Europe and a large part of the world, it will not be because they know how to stir up discontent or how to infect people with hatred, but because they know how to preach hope.
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Our frustration is greater when we have much and want more than when we have nothing and want some. We are less dissatisfied when we lack many things than when we seem to lack but one thing.
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We are more prone to generalize the bad than the good. We assume that the bad is more potent and contagious.
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Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.
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Even in slight things the experience of the new is rarely without some stirring of foreboding.
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Man is a luxury-loving animal. Take away play, fancies, and luxuries, and you will turn man into a dull, sluggish creature, barely energetic enough to obtain a bare subsistence. A society becomes stagnant when its people are too rational or too serious to be tempted by baubles.
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The fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from becoming anything.
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Our passionate preoccupation with the sky, the stars, and a God somewhere in outer space is a homing impulse. We are drawn back to where we came from.
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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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When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else - we are the busiest people in the world.
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The proselytizing fanatic strengthens his own faith by converting others. The creed whose legitimacy is most easily challenged is likely to develop the strongest proselytizing impulse.
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Actual creativeness is a matter of moments. One has to piece together the minute grains to make a lump. And it is so easy to miss the momentary flashes, it is like sluicing in placer mining. He who lets the flakes float by has nothing to show for his trouble.
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The hardest thing to cope with is not selfishness or vanity or deceitfulness, but sheer stupidity.
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