There is in most passions a shrinking away from ourselves. The passionate pursuer has all the earmarks of a fugitive.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that intense passions can lead us to evade our true selves, resembling a fugitive escaping from reality.
Eric Hoffer's quote reflects on the nature of passion and how it can sometimes compel individuals to escape from their authentic selves. The passionate 'pursuer' is likened to a fugitive, indicating that when one becomes consumed by their desires or passions, they may lose sight of their true identity and values, ultimately leading to a conflict between their pursuits and their inner self.
In practice
This quote would be powerful in a speech about the dangers of losing oneself in obsessive pursuits.
Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the first question. Social stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of the impulse to ask questions.
Faith in humanity, in posterity, in the destiny of one's religion, nation, race, party or family-what is it but the visualization of that eternal something to which we attach the self that is about to be annihilated?
You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.
Our frustration is greater when we have much and want more than when we have nothing and want some. We are less dissatisfied when we lack many things than when we seem to lack but one thing.
Our credulity is greatest concerning the things we know least about.
Perhaps a modern society can remain stable only by eliminating adolescence, by giving its young, from the age of ten, the skills, responsibilities, and rewards of grownups, and opportunities for action in all spheres of life. Adolescence should be a time of useful action, while book learning and scholarship should be a preoccupation of adults.
But I have to add - and this answers your other question - this catholicity in time and in space is only meaningful for me if there is, at the same time, a concentration on the Gospel.
Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards.
Justice is a temporary thing that must at last come to an end; but the conscience is eternal and will never die.
The intelligent poor individual was a much finer observer than the intelligent rich one. The poor individual looks around him at every step, listens suspiciously to every word he hears from the people he meets; thus, every step he takes presents a problem, a task, for his thoughts and feelings. He is alert and sensitive, he is experienced, his soul has been burned.
If you find yourself loving any pleasure more than your prayers, any book better than the Bible, any house better than the house of the Lord, any table better than the Lord's table, any persons better than Christ, or any indulgence better than the hope of heaven β be alarmed.
Consumerism has led us to become used to an excess and daily waste of food, to which, at times, we are no longer able to give a just value, which goes well beyond mere economic parameters. We should all remember, however, that throwing food away is like stealing from the tables of the the poor, the hungry!
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