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The whole idea of revenge and punishment is a childish day-dream. Properly speaking, there is no such thing as revenge. Revenge is an act which you want to commit when you are powerless and because you are powerless: as soon as the sense of impotence is removed, the desire evaporates also.

— George Orwell

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More quotes by George Orwell

England is perhaps the only great country whose intellectuals are ashamed of their own nationality.

The Lion and the Unicorn (1941)

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

Within certain limits, it is actually true that the less money you have, the less you worry.

Down and Out in Paris and London (1933)

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

Homage to Catalonia (1938)

The fallacy is to believe that under a dictatorial government you can be free inside.

As I Please (1943)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: George Orwell (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.