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When hopes and dreams are loose in the streets, it is well for the timid to lock doors, shutter windows and lie low until the wrath has passed. For there is often a monstrous incongruity between the hopes, however noble and tender, and the action which follows them. It is as if ivied maidens and garlanded youths were to herald the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Eric Hoffer#8

ActionHopeCautionDangerIdealism

About this quote

What does it mean?
High hopes can lead to destructive actions. It is wise to stay safe when noble dreams trigger violent reactions.
In plain terms
Do not get too involved when big dreams cause chaos.
What can you take from it?
Protect yourself when ideals lead to unrest.

Where it applies

  • protests
  • revolutions
  • social upheaval

Putting it to work

  • assess risks
  • stay cautious
  • observe from afar

Questions to consider

  • When should hope be tempered by caution?
  • Why do noble goals sometimes lead to violence?

Another view

It encourages passivity during times of needed change.

More from Eric Hoffer

  1. For though ours is a godless age, it is the very opposite of irreligious. The true believer is everywhere on the march, and both by converting and antagonizing…

    Permalink to quote #7
  2. Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves.

    Permalink to quote #9
  3. If anybody asks me what I have accomplished, I will say all I have accomplished is that I have written a few good sentences.

    Permalink to quote #6

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