Top 114 Quotes by Eric Hoffer

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

Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.

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

The misery of a child is interesting to a mother, the misery of a young man is interesting to a young woman, the misery of an old man is interesting to nobody.

There is no loneliness greater than the loneliness of a failure. The failure is a stranger in his own house.

We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand.

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

It is the around-the-corner brand of hope that prompts people to action, while the distant hope acts as an opiate.

We do not really feel grateful toward those who make our dreams come true; they ruin our dreams.

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