TrueQuotes - Verified Quotes Archive

"We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf."

— George Orwell

January 1, 1970

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot

Added on April 10, 2026

Unverified quote

0 likes

Original Language: English

Sources

This has commonly been attributed to Orwell but has not been found in any of his writings. Quote Investigator found the earliest known appearance in a 1993 Washington Times essay by Richard Grenier: "As George Orwell pointed out, people sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." The absence of quotation marks indicates Grenier was using his own words to convey Orwell's opinion; thus it may have originated as a paraphrase of his sta

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell

This has commonly been attributed to Orwell but has not been found in any of his writings. Quote Investigator found the earliest known appearance in a 1993 Washington Times essay by Richard Grenier: "As George Orwell pointed out, people sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." The absence of quotation marks indicates Grenier was using his own words to convey Orwell's opinion; thus it may have originated as a paraphrase of his sta