Quote

The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others.

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
Seems
Self
Right
Confer
Merciless
Harsh
Denial
Toward
Others

More quotes by Eric Hoffer

Image
A doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The fanatical believer is not conscious of his envy, malice, pettiness and dishonesty. There is a wall of words between his consciousness and his real self.
Eric Hoffer
Image
The future belongs to the learners-not the knowers.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Communists are frustrated capitalists.
Eric Hoffer
Image
For many people, an excuse is better than an achievement because an achievement, no matter how great, leaves you having to prove yourself again in the future but an excuse can last for life.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Whoever originated the cliche that money is the root of all evil knew hardly anything about the nature of evil and very little about human beings.
Eric Hoffer
Image
We are ready to die for an opinion but not for a fact
Eric Hoffer
Image
A man's worth is what he is divided by what he thinks he is.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for lost faith in ourselves.
Eric Hoffer
Image
There is no alienation that a little power will not cure.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Proselytizing is more a passionate search for something not yet found than a desire to bestow upon the world something we already have. It is a search for a final and irrefutable demonstration that our absolute truth is indeed the one and only truth. The proselytizing fanatic strengthens his own faith by converting others.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Those who are in love with the present can be cruel and corrupt but not genuinely vicious. They cannot be methodically and consistently ruthless.
Eric Hoffer
Image
The world leans on us. When we sag, the whole world seems to droop.
Eric Hoffer
Image
The short-lived self, teetering on the edge of extinction, is the only thing that can ever really matter.
Eric Hoffer
Image
A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding.
Eric Hoffer
Image
A good sentence is a key . It unlocks the mind of the reader.
Eric Hoffer
Image
A grievance is most poignant when almost redressed.
Eric Hoffer
Image
It is doubtful if the oppressed ever fight for freedom. They fight for pride and power - power to oppress others. The oppressed want above all to imitate their oppressors they want to retaliate.
Eric Hoffer
Image
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.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Call not that man wretched, who whatever ills he suffers, has a child to love.
Eric Hoffer
Image
Nonconformists travel as a rule in bunches. You rarely find a nonconformist who goes it alone. And woe to him inside a nonconformist clique who does not conform with nonconformity.
Eric Hoffer