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Eric Hoffer Quotes about Sacrifice

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Those who would sacrifice a generation to realize an ideal are the enemies of mankind.

Those who would sacrifice a generation to realize an ideal are the enemies of mankind.

Eric Hoffer
Sacrifice, Enemy, Generations
Eric Hoffer (1996). “The Passionate State of Mind”

The vigor of a mass movement stems from the propensity of its followers for united action and self-sacrifice. When we ascribe the success of a movement to its faith, doctrine, propaganda, leadership, ruthlessness and so on, we are but referring to instruments of unification and to means used to inculcate a readiness for self-sacrifice. It is perhaps impossible to understand the nature of a mass movement unless it is recognized that their chief preoccupation is to foster, perfect and perpetuate a facility for united action and self-sacrifice.

Eric Hoffer
Mean, Sacrifice, Self
Eric Hoffer (1980). “The True Believer”

Crude absurdities, trivial nonsense, and sublime truths are equally potent in readying people for self-sacrifice if they are accepted as the sole, eternal truth

Eric Hoffer
Truth, Sacrifice, Self
Eric Hoffer (1982). “Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer”, HarperCollins Publishers

[The designated or chosen leader tries to] articulate and justify the resentment dammed up in the souls of the frustrated. He kindles the vision of a breathtaking future so as to justify the sacrifice of a transitory present. He stages the world of make-believe so indispensable for the realization of self-sacrifice and united action.

Eric Hoffer
Believe, Sacrifice, Self
Source: www.psychologytoday.com

The leader personifies the certitude of the creed and the defiance and grandeur of power. He articulates and justifies the resentment damned up in the souls of the frustrated. He kindles the vision of a breath-taking future so as to justify the sacrifice of a transitory present. He stages a world of make-believe so indispensable for the realization of self-sacrifice and united action.

Eric Hoffer
Leadership, Believe, Sacrifice
"The True Believer: Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements" by Eric Hoffer, (p. 111), 1951.

The revulsion from an unwanted self, and the impulse to forget it, mask it, slough it off and lose it, produce both a readiness to sacrifice the self and a willingness to dissolve it by losing one's individual distinctness in a compact collective whole.

Eric Hoffer
Sacrifice, Self, Society
Eric Hoffer (1980). “The True Believer”

Excesses are essentially gestures. It is easy to be extremely cruel, magnanimous, humble or self-sacrificing when we see ourselves as actors in a performance.

Eric Hoffer
Humble, Sacrifice, Self
Eric Hoffer (1996). “The Passionate State of Mind”

How much easier is self-sacrifice than self-realization!

Eric Hoffer
Sacrifice, Self, Realization
"Thoughts of Eric Hoffer, Including: 'Absolute Faith Corrupts Absolutely'" by Eric Hoffer in The New York Times Magazine (p. 60), April 25, 1971.

It is part of the formidableness of a genuine mass movement that the self-sacrifice it promotes includes also a sacrifice of some of the moral sense, which cramps and restrains our nature.

Eric Hoffer
Sacrifice, Self, Movement
Eric Hoffer (1980). “The True Believer”

Where unity and self-sacrifice are indispensable for the normal functioning of society, everyday life is likely to be either religiofied (common tasks turned into holy causes) or militarized.

Eric Hoffer
Sacrifice, Self, Unity
Source: www.psychologytoday.com

Dissipation is a form of self-sacrifice.

Eric Hoffer
Sacrifice, Self, Despair
Eric Hoffer (1996). “The Passionate State of Mind”

The weak are not a noble breed. Their sublime deeds of faith, daring, and self-sacrifice usually spring from questionable motives. The weak hate not wickedness but weakness; and one instance of their hatred of weakness is hatred of self. All the passionate pursuits of the weak are in some degree a striving to escape, blur, or disguise an unwanted self. It is a striving shot through with malice, envy, self-deception, and a host of petty impulses; yet it often culminates in superb achievements.

Eric Hoffer
Hate, Spring, Sacrifice
Eric Hoffer (1963). “The Ordeal of Change”

To be ruthless requires belief that our life on earth is but a brief prelude to an afterlife, or a temporary sacrifice before some utopia can be instituted. Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains.

Eric Hoffer
Moving, Sacrifice, Skills
1955 The Passionate State of Mind.

Unity and self-sacrifice, of themselves, even when fostered by the most noble means, produce a facility for hating. Even when men league themselves mightily together to promote tolerance and peace on earth, they are likely to be violently intolerant toward those not of a like mind.

Eric Hoffer
Hate, Mean, Sacrifice
ERIC HOFFER (1963). “THE TRUE BELIEVER”

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