Books v. Cigarettes Quotes

“There are books that one reads over and over again, books that become part of the furniture of one's mind and alter one's whole attitude to life, books that one dips into but never reads through, books that one reads at a single sitting and forgets a week later: and the cost, in terms of money, may be the same in each case.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“From the totalitarian point of view history is something to be created rather than learned. A totalitarian state is in effect a theocracy, and its ruling caste, in order to keep its position, has to be thought of as infallible. But since, in practice, no one is infallible, it is frequently necessary to rearrange past events in order to show that this or that mistake was not made, or that this or that imaginary triumph actually happened. Then again, every major change in policy demands a corresponding change of doctrine and a revelation of prominent historical figures. This kind of thing happens everywhere, but is clearly likelier to lead to outright falsification in societies where only one opinion is permissible at any given moment. Totalitarianism demands, in fact, the continuous alteration of the past, and in the long run probably demands a disbelief in the very existence of objective truth.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“The fact is that certain themes cannot be celebrated in words, and tyranny is one of them. No one ever wrote a good book in praise of the Inquisition.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“A totalitarian society which succeeded in perpetuating itself would probably set us a schizophrenic system of thought, in which the laws of common sense held good in everyday life and in certain exact sciences, but could be disregarded by the politician, the historian, and the sociologist. Already there are countless people who would think it scandalous to falsify a scientific text-book, but would see nothing wrong in falsifying an historical fact.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“The cost of reading, even if you buy books instead of borrowing them and take in a fairly large number of periodicals, does not amount to more than the combined cost of smoking and drinking.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“At the time I could not see beyond the moral dilemma that is presented to the weak in a world governed by the strong: Break the rules, or perish.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“The organized lying practiced by totalitarian states is not, as is sometimes claimed, a temporary expedient of the same nature as military deception. It is something integral to totalitarianism, something that would still continue even if concentration camps and secret police forces had ceased to be necessary.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“When I worked in a second-hand bookshop — so easily pictured, if you don't work in one, as a kind of paradise where charming old gentlemen browse eternally among calf-bound folios — the thing that chiefly struck me was the rarity of really bookish people. Our shop had an exceptionally interesting stock, yet I doubt whether ten per cent of our customers knew a good book from a bad one. First edition snobs were much commoner than lovers of literature, but oriental students haggling over cheap textbooks were commoner still, and vague-minded women looking for birthday presents for their nephews were commonest of all.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“... but any writer who adopts the totalitarian outlook, who finds excuses for persecution and the falsification of reality, thereby destroys himself as a writer. There is no way out of this. No tirades against 'individualism' and 'the ivory tower', no pious platitudes to the effect that 'true individuality is only attained through identification with the community', can get over the fact that a bought mind is a spoiled mind”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“A totalitarian society which succeeded in perpetuating itself would probably set up a schizophrenic system of thought, in which the laws of common sense held good in everyday life and in certain exact sciences, but could be disregarded by the politician, the historian, and the sociologist. Already there are countless people who would think it scandalous to falsify a scientific textbook, but would see nothing wrong in falsifying an historical fact. It is at the point where literature and politics cross that totalitarianism exerts its greatest pressure on the intellectual. The exact sciences are not, at this date, menaced to anything like the same extent. This partly accounts for the fact that in all countries it is easier for the scientists than for the writers to line up behind their respective governments.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“But a child’s belief in its own shortcomings is not much influenced by facts.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“But this sense of guilt and inevitable failure was balanced by something else: that is, the instinct to survive. Even a creature that is weak, ugly, cowardly, smelly and in no way justifiable still wants to stay alive and be happy after its own fashion. I could not invert the existing scale of values, or turn myself into a success, but I could accept my failure and make the best of it. I could resign myself to being what I was, and then endeavour to survive on those terms.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“SAMEDAY RESULTS MONEY/JOB,PROMOTION,SPELLS SOUTH AFRICA,BOTSWANA,SUDAN,NAMIBIA,RWANDA ”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“The weakness of a child is that it starts with a blank sheet. It neither understands nor questions the society on which it lives, and because of its credulity other people can work upon it, infecting it with the sense of inferiority and the dread of offending against mysterious, terrible laws.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“The gods are jealous, and when you have good fortune you should conceal it.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“Dar e ceva rău,nu-i aşa,să-ţi urăşti binefăcătorii?Aşa fusesem învăţat şi aşa credeam.Un copil acceptă codurile de comportament care îi sunt prezentate chiar şi atunci când le încalcă.De la vârsta de opt ani-sau chiar mai devreme- conştiinţa păcatului nu s-a îndepărtat niciodată prea mult de mine.Când încercam să par insensibil şi sfidător,asta era doar o pojghiţă subţire de deasupra unei mari cantităţi de ruşine şi de disperare.De-a lungul întregii copilării am avut convingerea profundă că nu sunt bun de nimic,că îmi irosesc timpul,că îmi distrug talentul,că etalez o prostie,o răutate şi o nerecunoştinţă monstruoase.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes

“Adevăratul motiv pentru care nu mi-ar plăcea să rămân librar pe viaţă e că,în timp ce vindeam cărţi,mi-a pierit dragostea de cărţi.Un librar trebuie să spună minciuni despre cărţi,ceea ce îi provoacă un anumit dezgust faţă de ele.”
― George Orwell, Books v. Cigarettes