To be corrupted by totalitarianism, one does not have to live in a totalitarian country.

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.

Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness.

The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor.

A plongeur is a slave, and a wasted slave, doing stupid and largely unnecessary work. He is kept at work, ultimately, because of a vague feeling that he would be dangerous if he had leisure. And educated people, who should be on his side, acquiesce in the process, because they know nothing about him and consequently are afraid of him.

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.

No man should be allowed to be the President who does not understand hogs, or hasn't been around a manure pile.