Quote

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.

Eric Hoffer

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Eric Hoffer
Age: 84 †
Born: 1898
Born: July 25
Died: 1983
Died: May 21
Philosopher
Psychologist
Writer
New York City
New York
Even
Dissatisfaction
Something
Wholly
Originality
Strikingly
Idle
Untalented
Discover
Tinkering
Perhaps
Originate
Chance
Manifests
Matter
Chronic

More quotes by Eric Hoffer

Image
Unless a man has the talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.
Eric Hoffer
Image
In human affairs every solution serves only to sharpen the problem, to show us more clearly what we are up against. There are no final solutions.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Every era has a currency that buys souls. In some the currency is pride, in others it is hope, in still others it is a holy cause. There are of course times when hard cash will buy souls, and the remarkable thing is that such times are marked by civility, tolerance, and the smooth working of everyday life.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Call not that man wretched, who whatever ills he suffers, has a child to love.
Eric Hoffer
Image
There is a totalitarian regime inside every one of us. We are ruled by a ruthless politburo which sets our norms and drives us from one five-year plan to another. The autonomous individual who has to justify his existence by his own efforts is in eternal bondage to himself.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the first question. Social stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of the impulse to ask questions.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Glory is largely a theatrical concept. There is no striving for glory without a vivid awareness of an audience.
Eric Hoffer
Image
There are many who have grave scruples about deceiving but think it as nothing to deceive themselves.
Eric Hoffer
Image
We can never really be prepared for that which is wholly new. We have to adjust ourselves, and every radical adjustment is a crisis in self-esteem: we undergo a test, we have to prove ourselves. It needs subordinate self-confidence to face drastic change without inner trembling.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Creativity is discontent translated into arts.
Eric Hoffer
Image
It is loneliness that makes the loudest noise. This is true of men as of dogs.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Add a few drops of venom to a half truth and you have an absolute truth.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Judgment consists not in seeing through deceptions and evil intentions, but in being able to awaken the decency dormant in every person.
Eric Hoffer
Image
We can never have enough of that which we really do not want.
Eric Hoffer
Image
The desire to belong is partly a desire to lose oneself.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Naivete in grownups is often charming but when coupled with vanity it is indistinguishable from stupidity.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Those who lack the capacity to achieve much in an atmosphere of freedom will clamor for power.
Eric Hoffer
Image
The true believer, no matter how rowdy and violent his acts, is basically an obedient and submissive person.
Eric Hoffer
Image
To be aware how fruitful the playful mood can be is to be immune to the propaganda of the alienated, which extols resentment as a fuel of achievement.
Eric Hoffer