Quotes by Eric Hoffer

About Eric Hoffer:

Eric Hoffer was 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 (1951), 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.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

It is the malady of our age that the young are so busy teaching us that they have no time left to learn.

Eric Hoffer

Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.

Eric Hoffer

The best part of the art of living is to know how to grow old gracefully.

Eric Hoffer

Ideas have significance for him only as a prelude to action.

Eric Hoffer

The beginning of thought is in disagreement - not only with others but also with ourselves.

Eric Hoffer

Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.

Eric Hoffer

In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.

Eric Hoffer

In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes--courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, etc.--can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within u...

Eric Hoffer

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. The atheist is a religious person. He believes in atheism as though it were a new religion.

Eric Hoffer

If free enterprise becomes a proselytizing holy cause, it will be a sign that its workability and advantages have ceased to be self-evident.

Eric Hoffer

Jesus was not a Christian, nor was Marx a Marxist.

Eric Hoffer

In modern times, nationalism is the most copious and durable source of mass enthusiasm, and that nationalist fervor must be tapped if the drastic changes projected and initiated by revolutionary enthusiasm are to be consummated.

Eric Hoffer

Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all the unifying agents. Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a god, but never without a belief in a devil.

Eric Hoffer

The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice utmost humility, is boundless.

Eric Hoffer

Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.

Eric Hoffer

The game of history is usually played by the best and the worst over the heads of the majority in the middle.

Eric Hoffer

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.

Eric Hoffer

Those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophecies come true, but they can also lie and make their lies come true.

Eric Hoffer

Our sense of power is more vivid when we break a man's spirit than when we win his heart.

Eric Hoffer

It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak.

Eric Hoffer

Author Bio

  • NameEric Hoffer
  • DescriptionAmerican psychologist
  • BornJuly 25, 1902
  • DiedMay 21, 1983
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionWriter; Philosopher; Psychologist
  • AwardsPresidential Medal Of Freedom