Ifs Quotes by George Orwell

If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out

— George Orwell

Truth becomes untruth if uttered by your enemy

— George Orwell

Literature is doomed if liberty of thought perishes.

— George Orwell

Totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph anywhere.

— George Orwell

The Penguin books are splendid value for sixpence, so splendid that if other publishers had any sense they would combine against them…

— George Orwell

When I joined the militia I had promised myself to kill one Fascist - after all, if each of us killed one…

— George Orwell

Real power is achieved when the ruling class controls the material essentials of life, granting and withholding them from the masses as…

— George Orwell

If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation even among people who…

— George Orwell

If I had understood the situation a bit better I should probably have joined the Anarchists.

— George Orwell

History has to move in a certain direction, even if it has to be pushed that way by neurotics.

— George Orwell

If one harbours anywhere in one's mind a nationalistic loyalty or hatred, certain facts, although in a sense known to be true,…

— George Orwell

[T]he outcry against killing women, if you accept killing at all, is sheer sentimentality.:; Why is it worse to kill a woman…

— George Orwell

If human equality is to be forever averted -- if the High, as we have called them, are to keep their places…

— George Orwell

Contrary to popular belief, the past was not more eventful than the present. If it seems so it is because when you…

— George Orwell

Her feelings were her own, and could not be altered from outside. It would not have occurred to her that an action…

— George Orwell

Creeds like pacifism or anarchism, which seem on the surface to imply a complete renunciation of power, rather encourage this habit of…

— George Orwell

In the end I worked out an anarchistic theory that all government is evil, that the punishment always does more harm than…

— George Orwell

If you ask any ordinary reader which of Dickens's proletarian characters he can remember, the three he is almost certain to mention…

— George Orwell

I always disagree, however, when people end up saying that we can only combat Communism, Fascism or what not if we develop…

— George Orwell

If you turn the other cheek, you will get a harder blow on it than you got on the first one. This…

— George Orwell

In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914…

— George Orwell

As Gove knows… 'Scientific education for the masses will do little good, and probably a lot of harm, if it simply boils…

— George Orwell

[What Hayek] does not see, or will not admit, [is] that a return to "free" competition means for the great mass of…

— George Orwell

In my opinion, nothing has contributed so much to the corruption of the original idea of socialism as the belief that Russia…

— George Orwell

Winston worked in the RECORDS DEPARTMENT (a single branch of the Ministry of Truth) editing and writing for The Times. He dictated…

— George Orwell

If one looks closely one sees that there is no essential difference between a beggar's livelihood and that of numberless respectable people.…

— George Orwell

While the game of deadlocks and bottle-necks goes on, another more serious game is also being played. It is governed by two…

— George Orwell

Many people genuinely do not wish to be saints, and it is probable that some who achieve or aspire to sainthood have…

— George Orwell

If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any practical result whatsoever, you've beaten them.

— George Orwell

If I had to make a list of six books which were to be preserved when all others were destroyed, I would…

— George Orwell

Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is…

— George Orwell

Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

— George Orwell

If publishers and editors exert themselves to keep certain topics out of print, it is not because they are frightened of prosecution…

— George Orwell

If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself and that most of what…

— George Orwell

The English are probably more capable than most peoples of making revolutionary change without bloodshed. In England, if anywhere,it would be possible…

— George Orwell

During part of 1941 and 1942, when the Luftwaffe was busy in Russia, the German radio regaled its home audience with stories…

— George Orwell

The capitalists owned everything in the world, and everyone else was their slave. They owned all the land, all the houses, all…

— George Orwell

“When you make love you're using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don't give a damn for anything. They can't…

— George Orwell

Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is…

— George Orwell