ever cherished any dreams of violent insurrection, you must abandon
them. There is no way in which the Party can be overthrown. The rule of the
Party is for ever. Make that the starting-point of your thoughts.'
He came closer to the bed. 'For ever!' he repeated. 'And now let us
get back to the question of "how" and "why". You understand well enough how
the Party maintains itself in power. Now tell me why we cling to power.
What is our motive? Why should we want power? Go on, speak,' he added as
Winston remained silent.
Nevertheless Winston did not speak for another moment or two. A
feeling of weariness had overwhelmed him. The faint, mad gleam of
enthusiasm had come back into O'Brien's face. He knew in advance what
O'Brien would say. That the Party did not seek power for its own ends, but
only for the good of the majority. That it sought power because men in the
mass were frail cowardly creatures who could not endure liberty or face the
truth, and must be ruled over and systematically deceived by others who
were stronger than themselves. That the choice for mankind lay between
freedom and happiness, and that, for the great bulk of mankind, happiness
was better. That the party was the eternal guardian of the weak, a
dedicated sect doing evil that good might come, sacrificing its own
happiness to that of others. The terrible thing, thought Winston, the
terrible thing was that when O'Brien said this he would believe it. You
could see it in his face. O'Brien knew everything. A thousand times better
than Winston he knew what the world was really like, in what degradation
the mass of human beings lived and by what lies and barbarities the Party
kept them there. He had understood it all, weighed it all, and it made no
difference: all