For a creative writer possession of the 'truth' is less important than emotional sincerity. truth
Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious. men
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. the future & imagination
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. freedom, peace, strength & war
No advance in wealth, no softening of manners, no reform or revolution has ever brought human equality a millimeter nearer. equality
The best books... are those that tell you what you know already. best
We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men. intelligence & men
Whatever is funny is subversive, every joke is ultimately a custard pie... a dirty joke is a sort of mental rebellion. being funny
As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents. religion
Patriotism is usually stronger than class hatred, and always stronger than internationalism. patriotism
Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness. happiness & men
Serious sport is war minus the shooting. war
War is evil, but it is often the lesser evil. war
Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac. war
No one can look back on his schooldays and say with truth that they were altogether unhappy. truth
Society has always seemed to demand a little more from human beings than it will get in practice. society
The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor. war
Not to expose your true feelings to an adult seems to be instinctive from the age of seven or eight onwards. aging
Mankind is not likely to salvage civilization unless he can evolve a system of good and evil which is independent of heaven and hell. being good
War is a way of shattering to pieces... materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable and... too intelligent. war
Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. freedom
Liberal: a power worshipper without power. power
Good writing is like a windowpane. being good
We may find in the long run that tinned food is a deadlier weapon than the machine-gun. food
To walk through the ruined cities of Germany is to feel an actual doubt about the continuity of civilization. war
The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it. war
The intellectual is different from the ordinary man, but only in certain sections of his personality, and even then not all the time. time
He was an embittered atheist, the sort of atheist who does not so much disbelieve in God as personally dislike Him. God
War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it. war
There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them. intelligence
Four legs good, two legs bad. being good
Men are only as good as their technical development allows them to be. being good & men
War is war. The only good human being is a dead one. being good & war
Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception. power
Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. power
I doubt whether classical education ever has been or can be successfully carried out without corporal punishment. education
The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history. history & truth
Oceania was at war with Eurasia therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. war
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. freedom
Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. the future
We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. men
In our time political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible. time
On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time. being good & time
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. men
A family with the wrong members in control that, perhaps, is as near as one can come to describing England in a phrase. family
Happiness can exist only in acceptance. happiness
In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act. time & truth