Eric Hoffer
Eric Hoffer
Eric Hofferwas an American moral and social philosopher. He was the author of ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, The True Believer, was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen, although Hoffer believed that The Ordeal of Change was his finest work...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth25 July 1902
CountryUnited States of America
acts breeds civilization decency evil government human ill judge life matter noble objectives people quality
The only index by which to judge a government or a way of life is by the quality of the people it acts upon. No matter how noble the objectives of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion- it is an evil government.
breeds decency evil government human ill matter noble objective suspicion
No matter how noble the objective of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion - it is an evil government
growing-up evil trying
Good and evil grow up together and are bound in an equilibrium that cannot be sundered. The most we can do is try to tilt the equilibrium toward the good.
believe evil doubt
The suspicious mind believes more than it doubts. It believes in a formidable and ineradicable evil lurking in every person.
giving evil promise
When the weak want to give an impression of strength they hint menacingly at their capacity for evil. It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak.
roots evil littles
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.
men ideas evil
It is remarkable by how much a pinch of malice enhances the penetrating power of an idea or an opinion. Our ears, it seems, are wonderfully attuned to sneers and evil reports about our fellow men.
evil deception able
Judgment consists not in seeing through deceptions and evil intentions, but in being able to awaken the decency dormant in every person.
compassion evil literature
Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.
power evil promise
It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak.
cutting element later laying malice ourselves pleasure readiness
There is probably an element of malice in the readiness to overestimate people: we are laying up for ourselves the pleasure of later cutting them down to size.
american-writer cutting element later laying malice people readiness
There is probably an element of malice in our readiness to overestimate people - we are, as it were, laying up for ourselves the pleasure of later cutting them down to size.
achieves momentous sin
To the intellectual, America's unforgivable sin is that it has revolutions without revolutionaries, and achieves the momentous in a matter-of-fact way
attitude extreme flight self
Every extreme attitude is a flight from the self