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This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter

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
Theory
Food
Imperative
Effort
Imperatives
Desire
Concerning
Without
Shelter
Men
Efforts
Insight
Praise

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They who clamor loudest for freedom are often the ones least likely to be happy in a free society.
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Communists are frustrated capitalists.
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The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is on the contrary born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. 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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There is a tendency to judge a race, a nation or any distinct group by its leastworthy members.
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We cannot hate those who we despise.
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Sensuality reconciles us with the human race. The misanthropy of the old is due in large part to the fading of the magic glow of desire.
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To change everything, simply change your attitude.
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Successful action tends to become an end in itself.
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Many of the insights of the saint stem from his experience as a sinner.
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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.
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To the creative individual all experience is seminal-all events are equidistant from new ideasand insights.
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Commitment becomes hysterical when those who have nothing to give advocate generosity, and those who have nothing to give up preach renunciation.
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Excesses are essentially gestures. It is easy to be extremely cruel, magnanimous, humble or self-sacrificing when we see ourselves as actors in a performance.
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People haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited opportunities for both.
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Unpredictability, too, can become monotonous.
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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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Call not that man wretched, who whatever ills he suffers, has a child to love.
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We feel free when we escape - even if it be but from the frying pan to the fire.
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