There is no test of literary merit except survival, which is itself an index to majority opinion.

Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you.

The cheaper books become, the less money is spent on books.

You were the dead; theirs was the future.

Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble.

Why was it that they could never shout like that about anything that mattered?

To hang on from day to day and from week to week, spinning out a present that had no future, seemed an unconquerable instinct, just as one's lungs will always draw the next breath so long as there is air available.