George Orwell Quotations

Eric Arthur Blair (1903-50) was an English novelist and journalist that was best known under his pen name, George Orwell. He was profoundly aware of social injustice and had a passion for honest and clear language, among other things. He enjoyed fishing, and also liked to carry out practical jokes.

Below, output of his is sorted to bring us further insights.

You may think intelligent men cannot lay eggs

Eric Arthur Blair's pen name: George Orwell

Man . . . does not lay eggs.

Writing a book is a long, exhausting struggle.

Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious.

Man . . . cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. ◊

Who is telling stuff clearly, may be committed to remarkable heroism

THE GREAT enemy of clear language is insincerity.

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.

The ordinary man . . . feels himself master of his fate, but . . . far from endeavouring to influence the future, he simply lies down and lets things happen to him. ◊

To see what is in front of one's nose requires a constant struggle.

To a surprising extent the war-lords in shining armour . . . tend not to die fighting when the time comes.

When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic.

The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.

If liberty means anything at all, it [also] means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

Some sleep tight because rough men rattle, others keep dogs to that end

PEOPLE sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket.

Gist

Let the steps add up:

1. Lots of men can brood and hatch out ideas.
2. Who is telling things clearly, may be committed to remarkable heroism.
3. Some sleep tight because rough men rattle, others keep dogs to that end.

Men dedicated to telling truths, may sleep tight too, provided they are well shielded.

Alternatively

It is also possible to choose other bits or segments and let them work together according to the Tao-giving design involved. Thus, for example:

Revolutionary Writing among Other Revolutionaries

1. Writing a book is obviously not tackling things (running) fast.
2. It is probably not a revolutionary act that matters if others love to read it.
3. Nor does writing and reading it have to be constant struggle. But be equipped with a good stick anyhow, just in case.