Sinned Against

 

On Page 71 of his book, The Passionate State of Mind, Eric Hoffer wrote two entries which I shall quote and then comment on.

 

Hoffer: “          120

 

We derive a certain satisfaction from being sinned against. It is not only that a grievance adds content to our lives, but also makes it less monstrous the flame of malice which like a vigil light flickers in the dimness of our souls.”

 

My response: There is a part of every human being, the heart of each person, that is evil more than good. We derive a certain masochistic satisfaction from being sinner against, because being born wicked or self-despising indicates that we like being enslaved, abused, and tyrannized more than we enjoy the sadistic counterpart of that sick tendency, the desire to enslave, to hurt and subjugate all others.

 

I think it is an implicit Hofferian paradox and a here explicitly state Mavellonialist paradox that we are closer to the Evil Spirits in our masochistic roles, and that we are a bit closer to the Good Spirits in our sadistic roles. The trick is to be sadistic towards none or oneself, and to be not masochistic towards others or oneself, and this moderate stance is the ethical stance between these two pain-inflicting, pain-welcoming extremes.

 

When Hoffer writes of the monstrous flickering flame of malice which is a vigil light in the dimness of our souls, he is making his clearest statement yet that he regards people as born depraved, but ultimately salvageable if they will to self-reform.

 

The devil is us and is deep in our souls and bowels, and we should well be aware of this presence, so that we will not be consumed by it.

 

We are born monsters that will mature as dangerous monsters unless we get a grip on our wills. Making that personal moral journey is the only way to deal with what we are without avoidance or excessive recoiling.

 

 

 

Hoffer: “          121

 

However unjust and unreasonable the attitude we assume towards others, we seem to set in motion an automatic process which works blindly to corroborate and justify that attitude. It is an awesome thing that when we expose people, however undeservedly, to hatred, they become hateful. Our prejudices, suspicions and lies have this power to compel souls into a conforming pattern. It is as if the world, of its own accord, furnishes reasons for our unreasonable attitudes.

 

My response: Humans are born weak and sinful, altruistic to the core of their being. This means they are group oriented, groupist, noninidividuating and naturally altruistic. With these tendencies pointed out, it should not be surprising that victims of lies, prejudices and suspicions have come to exhibit and model the untruths spread about them. We are group creatures, and we imitate each other, and do what the group tells us to do, so we can gain social status and rank, the only standard ethically that we really live by.

 

Also, we naturally love lying more than truth-telling, so when others lie, are biased against us and paranoid about us, we are receptive to all the untruths they spread about us, because we believe lies more readily than the truth any day.