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
We are the dead. Our only true life is in the future.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the idea that true existence and meaning lie in what is yet to come rather than in the present or past.
George Orwell's quote suggests that the present life may feel empty or constrained, expressing a sense of despair or oppression. It emphasizes the notion that hope, aspirations, and possibilities hold the true essence of life, essentially arguing that the future is where we find our potential and purpose, as the current reality can often be bleak.
Themes
FutureLifeHopeExistencePotential
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to inspire hope among those feeling weighed down by their current circumstances.
More from George Orwell
All quotes →The 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
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All that money can do is buy us some one else's work in exchange for our own.
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All that belongs to human understanding, in this deep ignorance and obscurity, is to be sceptical, or at least cautious, and not to admit of any hypothesis whatever, much less of any which is supported by no appearance of probability.
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