747 Quotes by Eric Hoffer

Where freedom is real, equality is the passion of the masses. Where equality is real, freedom is the passion of a small minority.

Free men are aware of the imperfection inherent in human affairs, and they are willing to fight and die for that which is not perfect.

An empty head is not really empty; it is stuffed with rubbish. Hence the difficulty of forcing anything into an empty head.

We cannot win the weak by sharing our wealth with them. They feel our generosity as oppression.

Failure in the management of practical affairs seems to be a qualification for success in the management of public affairs.

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

Marriage has for women many equivalents of joining a mass movement. It offers them a new purpose in life, a new future and a new identity (a new name). The boredom of spinsters and of women who can no longer find joy and fulfillment in marriage stems from an awareness of a barren, spoiled life. By embracing a holy cause and dedicating their energies and substance to its advancement, they find a new life full of purpose and meaning.

When you automate an industry you modernize it; when you automate a life you primitivize it.

Our sense of power is more vivid when we break a man's spirit than when we win his heart. For we can win a man's heart one day and lose it the next. But when we break a proud spirit we achieve something that is final and absolute.