Skip to content

Eric Hoffer Quotes

1902–1983 United States

Eric Hoffer (25 July 1902 – 21 May 1983) was an American writer on social and political philosophy. His first book, The True Believer: Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements (1951) is widely recognized as a classic on mass-movements and the psychological roots of fanaticism.

United States
Non-fiction authors
Philosophers
Psychologists
Science authors

Also known as: Hoffer, Eric

Random Eric Hoffer quote

218 quotes

Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil.

The True Believer (1951)

Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves.

The True Believer (1951)

The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.

Israel's Peculiar Position (1968)

To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance.

The Passionate State Of Mind, and Other Aphorisms (1955)

There is hardly a single instance of cultural vigor marked by moderation in expression.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

I am more and more convinced that taking life over-seriously is a frivolous thing.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement.

The Passionate State Of Mind, and Other Aphorisms (1955)

Good writing, like gold, combines lustrous lucidity with high density. What this means is good writing is packed with hints.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

The most important point is — and remains — not to take oneself seriously.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

It is easier to love humanity as a whole than to love one's neighbor.

The Ordeal of Change (1963)

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.

A good sentence is a key. It unlocks the mind of the reader.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

Compassion is probably the only antitoxin of the soul. Where there is compassion even the most poisonous impulses remain relatively harmless.

The Passionate State Of Mind, and Other Aphorisms (1955)

Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.

The Passionate State Of Mind, and Other Aphorisms (1955)

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.

Reflections on the Human Condition (1973)

In an adequate social order, the untalented should be able to acquire a sense of usefulness and of growth without interfering with the development of talent around them.

The Ordeal of Change (1963)

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.

The True Believer (1951)

Originality is not something continuous but something intermittent — a flash of the briefest duration. One must have the time and be watchful (be attuned) to catch the flash and fix it.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

It is doubtful if the oppressed ever fight for freedom. They fight for pride and power — power to oppress others. The oppressed want above all to imitate their oppressors; they want to retaliate.

Those who lack the capacity to achieve much in an atmosphere of freedom will clamor for power.

Working and Thinking on the Waterfront (1969)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Eric Hoffer (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.