If one harbours anywhere in one's mind a nationalistic loyalty or hatred, certain facts, although in a sense known to be true, are inadmissible.
George OrwellRead
You were the dead; theirs was the future.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the idea of legacy and the future that belongs to those who are yet to come.
George Orwell's quote emphasizes the divide between the past and the future, suggesting that those who have passed away ('the dead') are no longer a part of the narrative, while the living hold the potential to shape what is to come. It highlights the importance of recognizing our mortality while also understanding that the future is a canvas for those yet to live and make their mark on the world.
Themes
FutureLegacyMortalityTransienceLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech at a memorial service, someone might use this quote to inspire the audience to consider how they will contribute to the future.
More from George Orwell
All quotes βThe creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
George OrwellRead
Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child's Meccano set. It is the unavoidable result of self-censorship. To write in plain, vigorous language one has to think fearlessly, and if one thinks fearlessly one cannot be politically orthodox.
George OrwellRead
Not to expose your true feelings to an adult seems to be instinctive from the age of seven or eight onwards.
George OrwellRead
As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.
George OrwellRead
It is fatal to look hungry. It makes people want to kick you.
George OrwellRead
Similar quotes
There has always been a strange dissonance between the public and the private in Nigeria.
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieRead
Each of us literally chooses, by his way of attending to things, what sort of universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit.
William JamesRead
In my travels I have found that those who keep Heaven in view remain serene and cheerful in the darkest day. If the glories of Heaven were more real to us, if we lived less for material things and more for things eternal and spiritual, we would be less easily disturbed by this present life.
Billy GrahamRead
Even if these stories are 3,000 years old, there's still so much about the characters, about the dilemmas, about their understanding of the universe that still resonates. The whole idea of order and chaos, which is really central to the ancient Egyptian understanding of the world, is still very much with us.
Rick RiordanRead
To sum up: 1. The cosmos is a gigantic fly-wheel making 10,000 revolutions a minute. 2. Man is a sick fly taking a dizzy ride on it. 3. Religion is the theory that the wheel was designed and set spinning to give him the ride.
H. L. MenckenRead
The twin conceptions of sin and vindictive punishment seem to be at the root of much that is most vigorous, both in religion and politics.
Bertrand RussellRead