Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1888-12), “A Christmas Sermon,” sec. 2, Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 4

Dave — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:38:17 +0000

There is an idea abroad among moral people that they should make their neighbors good. One person I have to make good: myself.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1888-12), “A Christmas Sermon,” sec. 2, Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 4
(Source)

Originally written in the winter of 1887-88. Collected in Across the Plains, ch. 12 (1892).

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 2, ch. 5, § 26 (1951)

Dave — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:36:01 +0000

Unless a man has talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden. Of what avail is freedom to choose if the self be ineffectual? We join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility, or, in the words of the ardent young Nazi, “to be free from freedom.” It was not sheer hypocrisy when the rank-and-file Nazis declared themselves not guilty of all the enormities they had committed. They considered themselves cheated and maligned when made to shoulder responsibility for obeying orders. Had they not joined the Nazi movement in order to be free from responsibility?

Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 2, ch. 5, § 26 (1951)

WIST Quotations

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1888-12), “A Christmas Sermon,” sec. 2, Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 4

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 2, ch. 5, § 26 (1951)