"It has often been said that power corrupts. But it is perhaps equally important to realize that weakness, too, corrupts. Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many. Hatred, malice, rudeness, intolerance, and suspicion are the faults of weakness. The resentment of the weak does not spring from any injustice done to them but from the sense of inadequacy and impotence. They hate not wickedness but weakness. When it is their power to do so, the weak destroy weakness wherever they see it."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Atheists from the United StatesPhilosophers from the United StatesNon-fiction authors from the United StatesPsychologists from the United StatesHumanists
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Section 42
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Eric Hoffer
1902 – 1983
US-amerikanischer Schriftsteller
179 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Eric Hoffer →
Related Quotes
"All forms of dedication, devotion, loyalty and self-surrender are in essence a desperate clinging to something which …"
"We have rudiments of reverence for the human body, but we consider as nothing the rape of the human mind."
"A caridade começa em casa."
"There is a startling similarity between Bacon’s prescription for mastering nature—“Nature, to be commanded, must be o…"
"To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance."
"My writing is done in railroad yards while waiting for a freight, in the fields while waiting for a truck, and at noo…"
"The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for…"
"It was the craving to be a one and only people which impelled the ancient Hebrews to invent a one and only God whose …"
"A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own mean…"
"Our passionate preoccupation with the sky, the stars, and a God somewhere in outer space is a homing impulse. We are …"