No doubt alcohol, tobacco, and so forth, are things that a saint must avoid; but sainthood is also a thing that human beings must avoid.
George OrwellThe words kept coming back to him, statement of a mystical truth and a palpable absurdity.
George OrwellIt is one of the tragedies of the half-educated that they develop late, when they are already committed to some wrong way of life.
George OrwellHis answer to every problem, every setback was “I will work harder!” —which he had adopted as his personal motto.
George OrwellWar is a way of shattering to pieces... materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable and... too intelligent.
George OrwellDuring part of 1941 and 1942, when the Luftwaffe was busy in Russia, the German radio regaled its home audience with stories of devastating air raids on London. Now, we are aware that those raids did not happen. But what use would our knowledge be if the Germans conquered Britain? For the purpose of a future historian, did those raids happen, or didn't they? The answer is: If Hitler survives, they happened, and if he falls they didn't happen.
George Orwell