“We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf.”
This has commonly been attributed to Orwell but has not been found in any of his writings. Quote Investigator http://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/11/07/rough-men/ 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 statement in "Notes on Nationalism" https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwelnat.htm (May 1945): "Those who "abjure" violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf." There are also similar sentiments expressed in an essay which Orwell wrote on Rudyard Kipling, quoting from one of Kipling's poems: "Yes, making mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep." In the same essay Orwell also wrote of Kipling: "He sees clearly that men can only be highly civilized while other men, inevitably less civilized, are there to guard and feed them."
Misattributed
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George Orwell 473
English author and journalist 1903–1950Related quotes
“Many solemn nights
Blond moon, we stand and marvel…
Sleeping our noons away”
Source: Japanese Haiku
“Those who abjure violence can only do so by others committing violence on their behalf.”
As quoted in, All 3 Major Israeli TV Channels Declare Netanyahu Victor In Election, April 9 2019, The Daily Wire
2010s, 2019
Violence is Golden
A Sky Without Eagles (2014)
“As men we are all cursed by the violence in our natures.”
Men like the Moidart — aye, and Winterbourne — revel in that nature. We do not. We struggle to overcome it.
Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 7
“Heart of oak are our ships,
Heart of oak are our men;
We always are ready.”
Hearts of Oak. Compare: "Our ships were British oak, And hearts of oak our men", S. J. Arnold, Death of Nelson.
Variant: Where we would be together and have our books and at night be warm in bed together with the windows open and the stars bright. That was where we could go.
Source: A Moveable Feast