George Orwell Quotes About Evil

Quotes about: Evil

• All that was required of them (i.e. the brain-washed masses) was a primitive patriotism which could be appealed to whenever it was necessary to make them accept longer working hours or shorter rations. And even when they became discontented, as they sometimes did, their discontent led nowhere, because, being without general ideas, they could only focus it on petty specific grievances. The larger evils invariably escaped their notice.

  George Orwell

  Memorial Day, Ideas, Evil

• The planting of a tree, especially one of the long-living hardwood trees, is a gift which you can make to posterity at almost no cost and with almost no trouble, and if the tree takes root it will far outlive the visible effect of any of your other actions, good or evil.

  George Orwell

  Roots, Long, Evil

  George Orwell (2009). “Facing Unpleasant Facts: Narrative Essays”, p.221, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

• Mankind is not likely to salvage civilization unless he can evolve a system of good and evil which is independent of heaven and hell.

  George Orwell

  Independent, Civilization, Evil

• Politics is the choice between the lesser of two evils.

  George Orwell

  Two, Evil, Choices

• We have become too civilized to grasp the obvious. For the truth is very simple. To survive you often have to fight, and to fight you have to dirty yourself. War is evil, and it is often the lesser evil. Those who take the sword perish by the sword, and those who don't take the sword perish by smelly diseases.

  George Orwell

  War, Dirty, Fighting

  "Looking Back on the Spanish War". Book by George Orwell, § 1, 1943.

• The choice before human beings, is not, as a rule , between good and evil but between two evils. You can let the Nazis rule the world : that is evil; or you can overthrow them by war , which is also evil. There is no other choice before you, and whichever you choose you will not come out with clean hands.

  George Orwell

  War, Hands, Two

  George Orwell, Keith Gessen (2009). “All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays”, p.175, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

• In the end I worked out an anarchistic theory that all government is evil, that the punishment always does more harm than the crime and that people can be trusted to behave decently if only you will let them alone.

  George Orwell

  Government, Punishment, People

  "Orwell's England: the Road to Wigan Pier in the context of essays, reviews, letters and poems selected from the Complete works of George Orwell".

• The common people, on the whole, are still living in the world of absolute good and evil from which the intellectuals have long since escaped.

  George Orwell

  Long, People, Evil

  George Orwell (1970). “A Collection of Essays”, p.146, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

• He examined the chess problem and set out the pieces. It was a tricky ending, involving a couple of knights. 'White to play and mate in two moves.' Winston looked up at the portrait of Big Brother. White always mates, he thought with a sort of cloudy mysticism. Always, without exception, it is so arranged. In no chess problem since the beginning of the world has black ever won. Did it not symbolize the eternal, unvarying triumph of Good over Evil? The huge face gazed back at him, full of calm power. White always mates.

  George Orwell

  Brother, Couple, Moving

  George Orwell (2014). “1984”, p.219, Arcturus Publishing

• The enemy of the moment always represented absolute evil, and it followed that any past or future agreement with him was impossible.

  George Orwell

  Past, Agreement, Evil

  George Orwell, A.M. Heath (2003). “Animal Farm and 1984”, p.135, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

• War is evil, but it is often the lesser evil.

  George Orwell

  War, Evil, Literature

• I have the most evil memories of Spain, but I have very few bad memories of Spaniards.

  George Orwell

  Memories, Evil, Spain

  George Orwell (2016). “Homage to Catalonia / Down and Out in Paris and London”, p.235, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

• Winston could not definitely remember a time when his country had not been at war...war had literally been continuous, though strictly speaking it had not always been the same war. The enemy of the moment always represented absolute evil.

  George Orwell

  Country, War, Evil

• We believe half-instinctively that evil always defeats itself in the long run. Pacifism is founded largely on this belief. Don't resist evil, and it will somehow destroy itself. But why should it? What evidence is there that it does... unless conquered from the outside by military force?

  George Orwell

  Running, Military, Believe

  George Orwell (2009). “Facing Unpleasant Facts: Narrative Essays”, p.174, HMH

• The choice before human beings, is not, as a rule, between good and evil but between two evils.

  George Orwell

  Two, Evil, Choices

  George Orwell, Keith Gessen (2009). “All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays”, p.175, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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