---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you put it in words it sounded…"
description: "\"“When you put it in words it sounded reasonable: it was when you looked at the human beings passing you on the pavement that it became an act of faith...."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/george-orwell-57_faith_when-you-put-it-in-words-it-sounded-reas_3024468.jpg"
---

#  When you put it in words it sounded reasonable: it was…

![“When you put it in words it sounded reasonable: it was when you looked at the human beings passing you on the pavement that it became an act of faith.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/george-orwell-57_faith_when-you-put-it-in-words-it-sounded-reas_3024468.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/george-orwell-57_faith_when-you-put-it-in-words-it-sounded-reas_3024468.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/george-orwell-57_faith_when-you-put-it-in-words-it-sounded-reas_3024468.jpg)

> ““When you put it in words it sounded reasonable: it was when you looked at the human beings passing you on the pavement that it became an act of faith.””

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Seeing others can transform a simple observation into an act of belief.

**In simple terms:** Observation becomes faith when shared.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the power of perspective.

Themes

perception faith human connection

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- crowd behavior
- public speaking
- writing
- teaching

Key Concepts

social empathy subjective reality

Questions to Reflect On

- How does seeing others affect your beliefs?
- When have you felt an act of faith?

A Different Perspective

May overemphasize faith without evidence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/)

## Related quotes

> [“But if there was hope, it lay in the proles. You had to cling on to that. When you put it in words it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-if-there-was-hope-it-lay-in-the-proles-you-had-to-cling-on-to/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“Isabel was a surprise. There were depths to her he wanted to understand, and maybe, just maybe, she would let him. She was skittish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/isabel-was-a-surprise-there-were-depths-to-her-he-wanted-to/)

[Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/)

> [The figures looked more or less human. And they were engaged in religion. You could tell by the knives (it's not murder if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-figures-looked-more-or-less-human-and-they-were-engaged-in/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [“The words sounded like a desperate prayer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-sakavic/the-words-sounded-like-a-desperate-prayer/)

[Nora Sakavic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-sakavic/)

> [“My words still sounded lame, but the truth so often limps off the tongue in times of crisis. Just when we most need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/my-words-still-sounded-lame-but-the-truth-so-often-limps-off-the/)

[Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/)

> [“By the time he got around to meaning it, the words had sounded fraudulent to him and he'd been afraid to pronounce them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/by-the-time-he-got-around-to-meaning-it-the-words-had-sounded/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“May Allah bless you." Or had she said: "May Allah burn you?" He was not sure which: the two Arabic words sounded so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/may-allah-bless-you-or-had-she-said-may-allah-burn-you-he-was-not/)

[Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/)

> [“His words sounded foolish to his own ears. He was not impressive. He was small like the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/his-words-sounded-foolish-to-his-own-ears-he-was-not-impressive-he/)

[Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/)

> [“The cicadas were singing a song. It was a one-noted, one-worded; The words sounded like "please". They were singing and singing and singing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-foxlee/the-cicadas-were-singing-a-song-it-was-a-one-noted-one-worded-the/)

[Karen Foxlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-foxlee/)

> [“Your words sounded like the worst kind of secret, the story that I wished wasn’t true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-karyus-quinn/your-words-sounded-like-the-worst-kind-of-secret-the-story-that-i/)

[Kate Karyus Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-karyus-quinn/)

> [“If words are to be uttered, they would be from behind the partition. Unaccountable is distance, time to transport from this present minute. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-hak-kyung-cha/if-words-are-to-be-uttered-they-would-be-from-behind-the-partition/)

Theresa Hak Kyung Cha

> [“He rubbed my arm, whispering words that sounded like moth bodies flying into glass windows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/he-rubbed-my-arm-whispering-words-that-sounded-like-moth-bodies/)

[Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/)

> [“You know I love you. You're the only one." "She isn't the first woman he's ever said that to. He shouldn't have used it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-know-i-love-you-you-re-the-only-one-she-isn-t-the-first-woman-he/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Her words sounded pretty, but I knew her better. She’d blinked three times in a row.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/her-words-sounded-pretty-but-i-knew-her-better-she-d-blinked-three/)

[Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/)

## More by George Orwell

> [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

[Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

## More Faith quotes

> [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/)

[Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/)

> [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/)

[St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/)

> [Keep the faith, and keep going strong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/keep-the-faith-and-keep-going-strong/)

[Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/)

> [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/)

[John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/)

> [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/)

Riffat Hassan

> [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/)

[Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/)

> [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/)

[Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/)

> [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [Holiness sincerity, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/holiness-sincerity-and-faith/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [“The only limitations for your life are the limiting beliefs in your mind. —Matt Morris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-morris-1/the-only-limitations-for-your-life-are-the-limiting-beliefs-in-your/)

Matt Morris (1

> [“Just because your faith is shaken doesn’t mean the faith is shaken. The eternal truths of the Kingdom aren’t altered or affected by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/just-because-your-faith-is-shaken-doesn-t-mean-the-faith-is-shaken/)

[Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/)

> [Grit, determination, the right amount of crazy, self belief - everything it takes to be a champion. I have that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-poirier/grit-determination-the-right-amount-of-crazy-self-belief-everything/)

[Dustin Poirier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-poirier/)

> [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/)

[Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/)

[Browse all 37,796 Faith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“When you put it in words it sounded reasonable: it was when you looked at the human beings passing you on the pavement that it became an act of faith.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Orwell"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-you-put-it-in-words-it-sounded-reasonable-it-was-when-you-looked/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Faith"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-you-put-it-in-words-it-sounded-reasonable-it-was-when-you-looked/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/george-orwell-57_faith_when-you-put-it-in-words-it-sounded-reas_3024468.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/george-orwell-57_faith_when-you-put-it-in-words-it-sounded-reas_3024468.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/george-orwell-57_faith_when-you-put-it-in-words-it-sounded-reas_3024468.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When you put it in words it sounded reasonable: it was when you looked at the human beings passing you on…” — George Orwell",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "George Orwell",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“When you put it in words...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-you-put-it-in-words-it-sounded-reasonable-it-was-when-you-looked/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-you-put-it-in-words-it-sounded-reasonable-it-was-when-you-looked/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
