Orwell, George (1903 – 1950), English essayist, novelist, & satirist
On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.
“If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable – what then?” George Orwell, 1984
“In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art criticism and literary criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are almost completely lacking in meaning.” George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”, 1946
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” George Orwell, 1984 (first sentence)
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.
“The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.” George Orwell, Polemic, May 1946, “Second Thoughts on James Burnham”
“War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent.” George Orwell, 1984
Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.
“All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” George Orwell, Animal Farm
“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.” George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”, 1946
“Political language – and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists – is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”, 1946
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
