Memorable Quotes and quotations from George OrwellGeorge Orwell English essayist, novelist, & satirist (1903 - 1950)George Orwell - - Political language. . . is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. George Orwell - - On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good and not quite all the time. George Orwell - - Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. George Orwell - "Animal Farm" - All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. George Orwell - - The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous. Hierarchical society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance. This new version is the past and no different past can ever have existed. In principle the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation. The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects and its object is not the victory over either Eurasia or East Asia, but to keep the very structure of society intact. George Orwell - 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 - - To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. George Orwell - - Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket. George Orwell - 1984 - The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. George Orwell - - Liberal: a power worshipper without power. George Orwell - - Freedom is the right to say two plus two make four. If granted, all else follows. George Orwell - 1984 - Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood. George Orwell - 1984 Book 3, Chapter 3 - Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. George Orwell - Polemic, May 1946, "Second Thoughts on James Burnham" - The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it. George Orwell - - Big Brother is watching you. George Orwell - 1984 - If you want to imagine the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever. George Orwell - - All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. George Orwell - Book "1984" - War is Peace Freedom is Slavery Ignorance is Strength George Orwell - 1984 - Orthodoxy means not thinking--not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness. George Orwell - - In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. George Orwell - - If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them. George Orwell - - We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. George Orwell - (attributed) - People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. George Orwell - - Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it. George Orwell - 1984 - In general, the greater the understanding, the greater the delusion: the more intelligent, the less sane. George Orwell - - Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent. George Orwell - - An autobiography is only to be trusted when it reveals something disgraceful. A man who gives a good account of himself is probably lying, since any life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats. George Orwell - 1984 - Being in a minority, even a minority of one, did not make you mad. George Orwell - - No doubt alcohol, tobacco, and so forth, are things that a saint must avoid, but sainthood is a thing that human beings must avoid. George Orwell - "1984", first sentence - It was a cold, bright day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen. George Orwell - - In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell - - If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. George Orwell - - The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. George Orwell - 1984 - Orthodoxy means not thinking - not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness. George Orwell - 1984 - 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 - Essay: "The Prevention of Literature" (1946) - From the totalitarian point of view, history is something to be created rather than learned. George Orwell - - If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. George Orwell - - At age 50, every man has the face he deserves. George Orwell - 1984 - One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish a dictatorship. George Orwell - - On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time. George Orwell - "Nineteen Eighty-Four" - He who controls the past controls the future. |
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