Fanaticism in Religion, Philanthropy, and Sports

"The fierciest fanatics are often selfish people who were forced, by innate shortcomings or external circumstances, to lose faith in their own selves.  They separate the excellent instrument of their selfishness from their own ineffectual selves and attach it to the serviceof some holy cause.  And though it be a faith of love and humility they adopt, they can be neither loving nor humble."
Eric Hoffer, The True Believer, (Mentor, 1951), p. 51.

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