One of the marks of a truly vigorous society is the ability to dispense with passion as a midwife of action – the ability to pass directly from thought to action. – Eric Hoffer
The necessary has never been mans top priority. The passionate pursuit of the nonessential and the extravagant is one of the chief traits of human uniqueness. Unlike other forms of life, mans greatest exertions are made in the pursuit not of necessities but of superfluities. – Eric Hoffer
There would be no society if living together depended upon understanding each other. – Eric Hoffer
It is not so much the example of others we imitate as the reflection of ourselves in their eyes and the echo of ourselves in their words. – Eric Hoffer
Complication has penetrated everywhere. Few people have an immediate insight into moral truth such as nature has revealed it. Almost all men, even the least cultivated, only see invisible things through phrases. Intuition is very rare, ready-made phrases are common and cheap. – Alexandre Vinet (1797–1847), Philosophy. First Section: Pure Philosophy. C