Quote #41

God alone is satisfied with what He is and can proclaim: 'I am what I am.' Unlike God, man strives with all his might to be what he is not. He incessantly proclaims: 'I am what I am not.'

More from Eric Hoffer

  1. It has often been said that power corrupts. But it is perhaps equally important to realize that weakness, too, corrupts. Power corrupts the…
  2. To most of us nothing is so invisible as an unpleasant truth. Though it is held before our eyes, pushed under our noses, rammed down our th…
  3. Whenever we proclaim the uniqueness of a religion, a truth, a leader, a nation, a race, a part or a holy cause, we are also proclaiming our…
  4. The weakness of a soul is proportionate to the number of truths that must be kept from it.
  5. Pride is a sense of worth derived from something that is not organically part of us, while self-esteem derives from the potentialities and …
  6. A doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The fanatical believer is not…
  7. When people are free to do as we please, they usually imitate each other.
  8. We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.

All Eric Hoffer quotes