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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.

— Eric Hoffer

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Source and credibility

Wikiquote does not flag this quote as disputed or misattributed.

Source: Quoted in War and Conflict Quotations: A Worldwide Dictionary of Pronouncements from Military Leaders, Politicians, Philosophers, Writers and Others (1997) by Michael C. Thomsett and Jean F. Thomsett
Source quality: Secondhand citation Quoted from another book or article rather than from the original.

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

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

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

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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.

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

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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)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Paraphrased variant: "I doubt if the oppressed ever fight for freedom..."

More quotes by Eric Hoffer

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

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

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

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

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

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Eric Hoffer (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.