“Many of the insights of the saint stem from their experience as sinners.”
Experience
“The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian despot who wants to turn them into puppets.”
MenAll Quotes by Eric Hoffer
“Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.”
Alone“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.”
Power“It is often the failure who is the pioneer in new lands, new undertakings, and new forms of expression.”
Failure“It is a sign of creeping inner death when we can no longer praise the living.”
Death“Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for lost faith in ourselves.”
Faith“One of the marks of a truly vigorous society is the ability to dispense with passion as a midwife of action - the ability to pass directly from thought to action.”
Society“The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian despot who wants to turn them into puppets.”
Men“Someone who thinks the world is always cheating him is right. He is missing that wonderful feeling of trust in someone or something.”
Trust“Our sense of power is more vivid when we break a man's spirit than when we win his heart.”
Power“We have perhaps a natural fear of ends. We would rather be always on the way than arrive. Given the means, we hang on to them and often forget the ends.”
Fear“The only way to predict the future is to have power to shape the future.”
Future“In times of change learners inherit the earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
Change“The best part of the art of living is to know how to grow old gracefully.”
Art“We are least open to precise knowledge concerning the things we are most vehement about.”
Knowledge“The fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from becoming anything.”
Fear“Charlatanism of some degree is indispensable to effective leadership.”
Leadership“Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature.”
Nature“To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance.”
Faith“When we believe ourselves in possession of the only truth, we are likely to be indifferent to common everyday truths.”
Truth