If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. George Orwell More Quotes by George Orwell More Quotes From George Orwell Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any case soon perishes: only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal. George Orwell partymistakereality And in the general hardening of outlook that set in ... practices which had been long abandoned ... -- imprisonment without trial, the use of war prisoners as slaves, public executions, torture to extract confessions, the use of hostages and the deportation of whole populations -- not only became common again, but were tolerated and even defended by people who considered themselves enlightened and progressive. George Orwell practicewarlong Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. George Orwell mindtwomean A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will express it? 3. What image or idiom will make it clearer? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? George Orwell political-languagewritingtrying The inflated style is itself a kind of euphemism. A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outlines and covering up all the details. The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. George Orwell political-languagelatinfall The process [of mass-media deception] has to be conscious, or it would not be carried out with sufficient precision, but it also has to be unconscious, or it would bring with it a feeling of falsity and hence of guilt.... To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies all this is indispensably necessary. George Orwell truthbelievelying One sometimes gets the impression that the mere words ' Socialism ' and ' Communism ' draw towards them with magnetic force every fruit-juice drinker, nudist, sandal-wearer, sex-maniac, Quaker, 'Nature Cure' quack, pacifist, and feminist in England. George Orwell fruit-juicefeministsex Truth becomes untruth if uttered by your enemy George Orwell truth-ismotivationalenemy Orthodoxy is the ability to say two and two make five when faith requires it. George Orwell orthodoxyfaithtwo Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing. George Orwell together-againpiecesmind Right thinking will be rewarded, wrong thinking punished. George Orwell wrong-thinkingthinking When I talk to anyone or read the writings of anyone who has any axe to grind, I feel that intellectual honesty and balanced judgement have simply disappeared from the face of the earth. Everyone's thought is forensic, everyone is simply putting a "case" with deliberate suppression of his opponent's point of view, and, what is more, with complete insensitiveness to any sufferings except those of himself and his friends. George Orwell honestyviewswriting Autobiography is only to be trusted when it reveals something disgraceful. George Orwell disgracefultrustedautobiography In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia. George Orwell political-languagebirthdaylying But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. George Orwell political-languageinspirationallife There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them. George Orwell intelligentbelieveideas The modern writer who has influenced me most is W. Somerset Maugham . George Orwell frillsmodern Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. George Orwell partychangeanswers Despotic governments can stand 'moral force' till the cows come home; what they fear is physical force. George Orwell cowsgovernmenthome We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. George Orwell 1984-importantintentionpower
