Quotations The Best George Orwell Quotes

1.1k votes 235 voters 25.9k views

List Rules Must be a famous or well-known quote. If a quote is cut off you can hover over the text to see the full quote.

A list of the best George Orwell quotes. This list is arranged by which famous George Orwell quotes have received the most votes, so only the greatest George Orwell quotes are at the top of the list. All the most popular quotes from George Orwell should be listed here, but if any were missed you can add more at the end of the list. This list includes notable George Orwell quotes on various subjects, many of which are inspirational and thought provoking.

This list answers the questions, "What are the best George Orwell quotes?" and "What is the most famous George Orwell quote?"

You can see what subjects these historic George Orwell quotes fall under displayed to the right of the quote. Be sure to vote so your favorite George Orwell saying won't fall to the bottom of the list.

list ordered by

1
45 4

Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. George Orwell

2
12 0

The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink. George Orwell

3
34 3

On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time. George Orwell

4
46 6

So much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot. George Orwell

5
32 3

To see what is in front of one's nose requires a constant struggle. George Orwell

6
26 2

To write or even speak English is not a science but an art. There are no reliable words. Whoever writes English is involved in a struggle that never lets up even for a sentence. He is struggling against vagueness, against obscurity, against the lure of the decorative adjective, against the encroachment of Latin and Greek, and, above all, against the worn-out phrases and dead metaphors with which the language is cluttered up. George Orwell

7
31 3

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. George Orwell

8
35 4

Early in life I had noticed that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper. George Orwell

9
18 1

To accept civilization as it is practically means accepting decay. George Orwell

10
24 2

Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. George Orwell

11
23 2

To survive it is often necessary to fight and to fight you have to dirty yourself. George Orwell

12
9 0

Good novels are not written by orthodoxy-sniffers, nor by people who are conscience-stricken about their own orthodoxy. Good novels are written by people who are not frightened. George Orwell

13
25 3

WAR IS PEACEFREEDOM IS SLAVERYIGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. George Orwell

14
32 5

One cannot really be a Catholic and grown up. George Orwell

15
35 6

A liberal is a power worshipper without the power. George Orwell

16
15 1

For the ordinary man is passive. Within a narrow circle (home life, and perhaps the trade unions or local politics) he feels himself master of his fate, but against major events he is as helpless as against the elements. So far from endeavoring to influence the future, he simply lies down and lets things happen to him. George Orwell

17
20 2

Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness George Orwell

18
20 2

The atom bombs are piling up in the factories, the police are prowling through the cities, the lies are streaming from the loudspeakers, but the earth is still going round the sun. George Orwell

19
29 6

Four legs good, two legs bad. George Orwell

20
18 2

What can you do against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy? George Orwell

21
18 2

Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception. George Orwell

22
13 1

A dirty joke is a sort of mental rebellion. George Orwell

23
12 1

The intellectual is different from the ordinary man, but only in certain sections of his personality, and even then not all the time. George Orwell

24
12 1

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

25
12 1

Language ought to be the joint creation of poets and manual workers. George Orwell

1 45 4 Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. George Orwell

2 12 0 The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink. George Orwell

3 34 3 On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time. George Orwell

4 46 6 So much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot. George Orwell

5 32 3 To see what is in front of one's nose requires a constant struggle. George Orwell

7 31 3 All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. George Orwell

8 35 4 Early in life I had noticed that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper. George Orwell

9 18 1 To accept civilization as it is practically means accepting decay. George Orwell

10 24 2 Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. George Orwell

11 23 2 To survive it is often necessary to fight and to fight you have to dirty yourself. George Orwell

12 9 0 Good novels are not written by orthodoxy-sniffers, nor by people who are conscience-stricken about their own orthodoxy. Good novels are written by people who are not frightened. George Orwell

13 25 3 WAR IS PEACEFREEDOM IS SLAVERYIGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. George Orwell

14 32 5 One cannot really be a Catholic and grown up. George Orwell

15 35 6 A liberal is a power worshipper without the power. George Orwell

17 20 2 Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness George Orwell

18 20 2 The atom bombs are piling up in the factories, the police are prowling through the cities, the lies are streaming from the loudspeakers, but the earth is still going round the sun. George Orwell

19 29 6 Four legs good, two legs bad. George Orwell

20 18 2 What can you do against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy? George Orwell

21 18 2 Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception. George Orwell

22 13 1 A dirty joke is a sort of mental rebellion. George Orwell

23 12 1 The intellectual is different from the ordinary man, but only in certain sections of his personality, and even then not all the time. George Orwell

24 12 1 The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it. George Orwell

25 12 1 Language ought to be the joint creation of poets and manual workers. George Orwell

not on the list? add item #78 List Rules: Must be a famous or well-known quote. If a quote is cut off you can hover over the text to see the full quote.