George Orwell Quotations

George Orwell Quotations

You may think intelligent men cannot 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

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

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

Gist

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.

Alternatively

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.