Pride is a sense of worth derived from something that is not organically part of us, while self-esteem derives from the potentialities and achievements of the self.
~ Eric Hoffer

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A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people’s business.
~ Eric Hoffer

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Should Americans begin to hate foreigners wholeheartedly, it will be an indication that they have lost confidence in their own way of life.
~ Eric Hoffer

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

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

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All social disturbances and upheavals have their roots in crises of individual self-esteem, and the great endeavor in which the masses most readily unite is basically a search for pride.
~ Eric Hoffer

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A mass movement attracts and holds a following not because it can satisfy the desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy the passion for self-renunciation.
~ Eric Hoffer

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We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand. A doctrine that is understood is shorn of its strength.
~ Eric Hoffer

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The uncompromising attitude is more indicative of an inner uncertainty than of deep conviction. The implacable stand is directed more against the doubt within than the assailant without.
~ Eric Hoffer

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If anybody asks me what I have accomplished, I will say all I have accomplished is that I have written a few good sentences.
~ Eric Hoffer

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