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~The less justified a man
is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim
all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause.
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-Eric Hoffer
The True Believer, 1951
Section 9
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~The creed whose
legitimacy is most easily challenged is likely to develop the strongest
proselytizing impulse. It is doubtful whether a movement which does not
profess some preposterous and patently irrational dogma can be possessed
of that zealous drive which "must either win men or destroy the world." 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.
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-Eric Hoffer
The True Believer, 1951
Section 88
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There are
many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an
achievement does not settle anything permanently.
We still have to prove our worth anew each
day: we have to prove that we are as good today as we were yesterday. But
when we have a valid alibi for not achieving anything we are fixed, so to
speak, for life. Moreover, when we have an alibi for not writing a book,
painting a picture, and so on, we have an alibi for not writing the greatest
book and not painting the greatest picture. Small wonder that the effort
expended and the punishment endured in obtaining a good alibi often exceed
the effort and grief requisite for the attainment of a most marked achievement.
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-Eric Hoffer
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The history of this country was made largely
by people who wanted to be left alone.
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-Eric Hoffer
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Animals can learn, but it is not by learning
that they become dogs, cats, or horses. Only man has to learn to become
what he is supposed to be.
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-Eric Hoffer
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The opposite of the religious fanatic is not
the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a
god or not.
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-Eric Hoffer
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The desire to belong is partly the desire
to lose oneself.
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-Eric Hoffer
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To the creative individual all experience
is seminal- all events are equidistant from new ideas and insights. . .
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-Eric Hoffer
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In a trader-dominated society, the scribe is
usually kept out of the management of affairs, but is given a more or less
free hand in the cultural field. By frustrating the scribe's craving for
commanding action, the trader draws upon himself the scribes wrath and
scorn.
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-Eric Hoffer
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When people are free to do as they please,
they usually imitate each other.
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-Eric Hoffer
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Take man's most fantastic invention-God. Man
invents God in the image of his longings, in the image of what he wants to
be, then proceeds to imitate that image, and strive to overcome it.
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-Eric Hoffer
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When we leave people on their own, we are
delivering them into the hands of a ruthless taskmaster from whose bondage
there is no escape. The individual who has to justify his existence by his
own efforts is in eternal bondage to himself.
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-Eric Hoffer
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There are many who find the burdens, the
anxiety, and the isolation of an individual existence unbearable. This is
particularly true when the opportunities for self-advancement are relatively
meager, and one's individual interests and prospects do not seem worth living
for. Such persons sooner or later turn their backs on an individual
existence and strive to acquire a sense of worth and a purpose by an
identification with a holy cause, a leader, or a movement. The faith and
pride they derive from such identification serve the as substitutes for the
unattainable self-confidence and self-respect.
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-Eric Hoffer
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Far more crucial than what we know or do not
know is what we do not want to know. One often obtains a clue to a person's
nature by discovering the reasons for his or her imperviousness to certain
impressions.
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-Eric Hoffer
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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.
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-Eric Hoffer
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No one is truly literate who cannot read
his own heart.
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-Eric Hoffer
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Our quarrel with the world is an echo of
the endless quarrel proceeding within us.
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-Eric Hoffer
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It is not love of self but hatred of self
which is at the root of the troubles that afflict our world.
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-Eric Hoffer
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The uncompromising attitude is more
indicative of an inner uncertainty than a deep conviction. The
implacable stand is directed more against the doubt within than the
assailant without.
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-Eric Hoffer
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It is not actual suffering but a taste of
better things which excites people to revolt.
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-Eric Hoffer
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Many of the insights of the saint stem from
his experience as a sinner.
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-Eric Hoffer
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