George Orwell

George Orwell

Writer, Journalist

George Orwell was a British writer known for his critiques of totalitarianism and social injustice, particularly in his works '1984' and 'Animal Farm'.

War Men Writing People Thinking Book
Born
June 25, 1903
Died
January 21, 1950
Quotes
767
Rank
#19

Quote collection

George Orwell quotes (page 17 of 39)

767 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"Nearly all creators of Utopia have resembled the man who has toothache, and therefore thinks happiness consists in not having toothache. They wanted to produce a perfect society by an endless continuation of something that had only been valuable because it was temporary. The wider course would be to say that there are certain lines along which humanity must move, the grand strategy is mapped out, but detailed prophecy is not our business. Whoever tries to imagine perfection simply reveals his own emptiness."

Moving Men Thinking
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent."

Running War Intelligent
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"I loathed the game, and since I could see no pleasure or usefulness in it, it was very difficult for me to show courage at it. Football, it seemed to me, is not really played for the pleasure of kicking a ball about, but is a species of fighting."

Soccer Football Fighting
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"Circus dogs jump when the trainer cracks his whip, but the really well-trained dog is the one that turns his somersault when there is no whip."

Dog Cracks Circus
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"When I joined the militia I had promised myself to kill one Fascist - after all, if each of us killed one they would soon be extinct."

Revolutionary Fascists Militia
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves."

Empty Hollow
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it."

Peace Military War
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"Orthodoxy means not thinking--not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness."

Mean Thinking Orthodoxy
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"To exchange one orthodoxy for another is not necessarily an advance. The enemy is the gramophone mind, whether or not one agrees with the record that is being played at the moment."

Mind Enemy Records
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"I sometimes think that the price of liberty is not so much eternal vigilance as eternal dirt."

Freedom Thinking Liberty
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"But what is work and what is not work? Is it work to dig, to carpenter, to plant trees, to fell trees, to ride, to fish, to hunt, to feed chickens, to play the piano, to take photographs, to build a house, to cook, to sew, to trim hats, to mend motor bicycles? All of these things are work to somebody, and all of them are play to somebody. There are in fact very few activities which cannot be classed either as work or play according as you choose to regard them."

Happiness Work Play
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"It struck him that in moments of crisis one is never fighting against an external enemy, but always against one’s own body... On the battlefield, in the torture chamber, on a sinking ship, the issues that you are fighting for are always forgotten, because the body swells up until it fills the universe, and even when you are not paralysed by fright or screaming with pain, life is a moment-to-moment struggle against hunger or cold or sleeplessness, against a sour stomach or an aching tooth."

Pain Struggle Fighting
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"If I had to make a list of six books which were to be preserved when all others were destroyed, I would certainly put Gulliver's Travels among them."

Book Gulliver Lists
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"Sheer egoism... Writers share this characteristic with scientists, artists, politicians, lawyers, soldiers, successful businessmen - in short, with the whole top crust of humanity."

Writing Successful Artist
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"All true tea lovers not only like their tea strong, but like it a little stronger with each year that passes."

Strong Years Tea
Read quote 9 likes
George Orwell Writer, Journalist
Popular

"If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself. You must know all the while that it is there, but until it is needed you must never let it emerge into your consciousness in any shape that can be given a name."

Names Secret Shapes
Read quote 9 likes