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
Today there were fear, hatred, and pain, but no dignity of emotion, no deep or complex sorrows.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the absence of genuine emotional depth in the face of negativity.
In this quote, George Orwell observes a situation characterized by fear, hatred, and pain, but notes that these feelings lack the dignity associated with true emotional experiences. He suggests that while negative feelings may be prevalent, they do not embody the complexity and richness that typically characterize profound sorrow or human experience, highlighting a disconnect between surface-level emotions and deeper truths.
In practice
In a discussion about the emotional impact of war and conflict, this quote can emphasize the lack of meaningful emotional engagement.
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.
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.
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.
Not to expose your true feelings to an adult seems to be instinctive from the age of seven or eight onwards.
As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.
It is fatal to look hungry. It makes people want to kick you.
Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents, and then later on in our life when we are oppressed by sickness and become old, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. Since at the beginning and end of our lives we are so dependent on other's kindness, how can it be in the middle that we would neglect kindness towards others?
Que sΓ§ais-je?" (What do I know?)
We ought to fly away from earth to heaven as quickly as we can; and to fly away is to become like God, as far as this is possible; and to become like him is to become holy, just, and wise.
Behold I do not give lectures or a little charity, When I give I give myself.
A man in a desert can hold absence in his cupped hands, knowing it is something that feeds him more than water.
Being called Black in America is the struggle to keep us moving and breathing over bloody water. Being a Nig**r or [Ni**a] without the context of history is like drowning in bloody water, dragging down those yet knowing to swim.
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