Quotation by Eric Hoffer

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New York Times (July 21, 1969)"A Time of Juveniles" The Temper of Our Time (1967)Reflections on the Human Condition (1973)Reflections on the Human Condition (1955)Reflections on the Human Condition (1932, repr. 1973)

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self (deception) invective (1) belief (1) Russia and the Russians (1) psychotherapy (1) hypocrisy (1) skepticism (1) trust (1) woman (1)

Our credulity is greatest concerning the things we know least about. And since we know least about ourselves, we are ready to believe all that is said about us. Hence the mysterious power of both flattery and calumny.

Eric Hoffer

Eric Hoffer (1902–1983), U.S. philosopher. The Passionate State of Mind, aph. 128 (1955).

In the aphorism following, Hoffer added: "It is thus with most of us: we are what other people say we are. We know ourselves chiefly by hearsay."

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