If you like using an aphorism as an opening to a speech or essay, or simply as a springboard to creative thinking, then read Eric Hoffer’s The Passionate State of Mind. Hundreds appear in this 1955 book by an author committed to understanding the human condition. Among my many favorites from his book:
“A preoccupation with the future not only prevents us from seeing the present as it is but often prompts us to rearrange the past.”
“The only way to predict the future is to have power to shape the future.”
“Those who would sacrifice a generation to realize an ideal are the enemies of mankind.”
“You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.”
“Sometimes the means we use to hide a thing serve only to advertise it.”
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