Hi all,

The location of that Orwell Rough Men quote has been updated to:
http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/ctc...q.htm#RoughMen

I hope this helps anybody who was looking for it.

>Jenn<

Very good.

Thank you for the update..

It can also be found here: http://www.thinkexist.com/english/Au...thor_873_1.htm

We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.
based on:
[Kipling] sees clearly that men can only be highly civilized while other men, inevitably less civilised,
are there to guard and feed them.
--George Orwell

So it is George Orwell.


Actually look what I just found on Wikipedia:

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

* Alternative: "We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us."
* Notes: allegedly from Rough Men by George Orwell. There is no evidence in existence that Orwell ever wrote or uttered either of these versions of this idea. While these do bear some similarity to a comment made in an essay that Orwell wrote on Rudyard Kipling, the two statements above are considered to be illegitimate by Orwell scholars.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

allegedly from Rough Men by George Orwell. There is no evidence in existence that Orwell ever wrote or uttered either .

I agree and made this same point in another message:

Did George Orwell really say it?

It seems like it's a bit of a mystery:
http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/ctc...q.htm#RoughMen

One thing is certain: Orwell knew how to use a gun. He hunted in his youth and left Britain to fight in the Spanish Civil War during the late 1930s.


---

That was written by me in mid-September. Let me just add that Orwell also voluntered to fight in WWII but was rejected due to poor health. I know that no written proof exists to show that Orwell made the "rough men" quote but it sounds exactly like something he would have said. Also remember that thousands of his BBC radio broadcasts did not survive so maybe he said it on the radio and that's how people remember it?


>Jenn<

I did some research and found this quote attributed to a speech on a BBC broadcast, April 4, 1942. That's as far as I got. Perhaps there's a site that has audio from old WWII BBC broadcasts.

Hope that helps, and hope you get some sleep!

Hi Chaps, I think the 'rough men' quote was from Winston Churchill in praise and justification of the original Commando and SAS boys who were coming under criticism for their 'barbaric acts' in occupied France. It was undoubtedly inspired by Orwell but the actual quote was Churchill I believe.