1984
Chapter 7
For,afterall,howdoweknowthattwoandtwomakefour? Orthattheforceofgravityworks? Orthatthepastisunchangeable? Ifboththepastandtheexternalworldexistonlyinthemind,andiftheminditselfiscontrollablewhatthen?
Butno! Hiscourageseemedsuddenlytostiffenofitsownaccord. ThefaceofO’Brien,notcalledupbyanyobviousassociation,hadfloatedintohismind. Heknew,withmorecertaintythanbefore,thatO’Brienwasonhisside. HewaswritingthediaryforO’Brien—TOO’Brien: itwaslikeaninterminableletterwhichnoonewouldeverread,butwhichwasaddressedtoaparticularpersonandtookitscolourfromthatfact.
ThePartytoldyoutorejecttheevidenceofyoureyesandears. Itwastheirfinal,mostessentialcommand. Hisheartsankashethoughtoftheenormouspowerarrayedagainsthim,theeasewithwhichanyPartyintellectualwouldoverthrowhimindebate,thesubtleargumentswhichhewouldnotbeabletounderstand,muchlessanswer. Andyethewasintheright!Theywerewrongandhewasright. Theobvious,thesilly,andthetruehadgottobedefended. Truismsaretrue,holdontothat! Thesolidworldexists,itslawsdonotchange. Stonesarehard,wateriswet,objectsunsupportedfalltowardstheearth’scentre. WiththefeelingthathewasspeakingtoO’Brien,andalsothathewassettingforthanimportantaxiom,hewrote:
Freedomisthefreedomtosaythattwoplustwomakefour. Ifthatisgranted,allelsefollows.
