In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible. Things like the continuance of British rule in India, the Russian purges and deportations, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, can indeed be defended, but only by arguments which are too brutal for most people to face, and which do not square with the professed aims of the political parties. Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.

Preventive war is a crime not easily committed by a country that retains any traces of democracy.

The fight against bad English is not frivolous.

The books one reads in childhood, and perhaps most of all the bad and good bad books, create in one's mind a sort of false map of the world, a series of fabulous countries into which one can retreat at odd moments throughout the rest of life, and which in some cases can survive a visit to the real countries which they are supposed to represent.

Take away freedom of speech, and the creative faculties dry up.

You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.

The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.