Eric Hoffer

What greater reassurance can the weak have than that they are like anyone else? ”

Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there. ”

When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the strong; it easily becomes a fashion. ”

Nationalist pride, like other variants of pride, can be a substitute for self-respect. ”

It is futile to judge a kind deed by its motives. Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind. ”

When people are bored it is primarily with themselves. ”

It is the awareness of unfulfilled desires which gives a nation the feeling that it has a mission and a destiny. ”

A nation without dregs and malcontents is orderly, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come. ”

Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind. ”

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. ”