But the thought of being a lunatic did not greatly trouble him; the horror was that he might also be wrong.
George OrwellThose who 'abjure' violence can do so only because others are committing violence on their behalf.
George OrwellProlonged, indiscriminate reviewing of books is a quite exceptionally thankless, irritating and exhausting job. It not only involves praising trash but constantly inventing reactions towards books about which one has no spontaneous feeling whatever.
George OrwellDo you begin to see, then, what kind of world we are creating? It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic Utopias that the old reformers imagined. A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world which will grow not less but more merciless as it refines itself. Progress in our world will be progress toward more pain.
George Orwell