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
acquire depriving others riches
The real ""haves"" are they who can acquire freedom, self-confidence, and even riches without depriving others of them
faith feeling fervent greatest imposing inner likely movements others plausible practice profession strong
It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction between profession and practice-that is to say with a strong feeling of guilt-are likely to be the most fervent in imposing their faith on others
against believe echo enemies enjoy example explain eyes friendship gets guard happen however image others ourselves reflection shape tend unless
Friendship Never explain / your friends do not need it, and your enemies will not believe it anyway. A real friend never gets in your way, unless you happen to be on the way down. A friend is someone you can do nothing with and enjoy it. However much we guard ourselves against it, we tend to shape ourselves in the image others have of us. It is not so much the example of others we imitate, as the reflection of ourselves in their eyes and the echo of ourselves in their words.
others ourselves
We can see through others only when we see through ourselves
benevolent demands despot himself others people sees sheep shepherd
The benevolent despot who sees himself as a shepherd of the people still demands from others the submissiveness of sheep
against echo example eyes friends-or-friendship guard however image others ourselves reflection shape tend
However much we guard ourselves against it, we tend to shape ourselves in the image others have of us. It is not so much the example of others we imitate, as the reflection of ourselves in their eyes and the echo of ourselves in their words.
kindness helping-others water
Help your sister's boat across the water, and yours too will reach the other side. Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.
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
cannot intelligence talking
You cannot gage the intelligence of an American by talking with him
call obvious question spell
To spell out the obvious is often to call it into question
best capitalism communist liberating true
Capitalism is at its liberating best in a non-capitalist environment. The crypto-businessman is the true revolutionary in a Communist country.