Orwell, George — Nineteen eighty-four [229]

The old, discredited leaders of the Party had been used to gather there before they were finally purged. Goldstein himself, it was said, had sometimes been seen there, years and decades ago. Syme’s fate was not difficult to foresee. And yet it was a fact that if Syme grasped, even for three seconds, the nature of his, Winston’s, secret opinions, he would betray him instantly to the Thought Police. So would anybody else, for that matter: but Syme more than most. Zeal was not enough. Orthodoxy was unconsciousness. — Orwell, George, Nineteen eighty-four, 229

Note

The cold clarity of Winston’s assessment of Syme — affectionate yet dispassionate, predicting his vaporization while knowing Syme would betray him — shows the impossible social geometry of the Party, where the intelligent perish and no loyalty exists. The final aphorism returns as a grim refrain.