In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act (1984 Jan-Feb; David Hoffman attributes to George Orwell)

[Garson O'Toole]

Fred Shapiro wrote
> One of the most popular quotes of our time (millions of Google hits) is the following, usually attributed to George Orwell:
>
> In a time of deceit (universal deceit), telling the truth is (becomes) a revolutionary act.
>
> I assume this is not really an Orwell quote, and some very quick searching seems to indicate that it is recent in origin.  Can anyone shed any light on early occurrences of the saying?

Barry Popik found an early instance of this quote in the Google Books
database.  The document was restricted to snippet view, and it turns
out that the date of 1982 given is inaccurate. Recently I was able to
check it on paper and found that the correct date is 1984
January-February. The quote appears in a letter lambasting a Canadian
magazine called Science Dimension. The letter writer complains about
an article about wind power than was published in the magazine in
1983. Here is an excerpt:

Cite: 1984/1 [1 of 6 issues in 1984], Science Dimension, Letters,
Letter from David Hoffman, Page 5, Column 1 and 2, Published by
National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Canada. (Google Books
snippet view; Verfied on paper)

Wind Article a Low Blow

The only thing diffuse about wind energy is the way Wayne Campbell
describes it "Project Eole: Catching Gaspe's Winds" in Science
Dimension (1983 No. 6). …

It would appear the reasons why Canada may not use wind energy in a
big way are not so much due to the fact that the wind energy resources
are far away from the places where the energy is consumed, or because
it is uneconomical to transport that energy over large distances;
rather the biggest reason is political, not economic or technical

I think George Orwell said in his book 1984 that in a time of
universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.  If
Science Dimension is not prepared to explore the future of renewable
energy technologies except in inaccurate generalizations, then maybe
it should maintain its integrity by avoiding the subject altogether.
In my work writing for Renewable Energy News, I spend many hours
trying to undo these generalizations. Why don't you give me a break?

David Hoffman
Renewable Energy News
Ottawa, Ont.
(End excerpt)

I hypothesize that the creator of this quote embellished words that
are usually attributed to Antonio Gramsci and combined them with a
statement based on a flawed memory of the book 1984 by George Orwell.

Hoffman expresses uncertainty about the quotation, and I have not
located an earlier citation at this time. So he may be the original
crafter of this saying. But it is possible that a predecessor of
Hoffman forged the quote and he heard or read it.

I have not had a chance yet to carefully research the Antonio Gramsci
(alternatively, a newspaper motto) quote. Below are raw Google hits
which are sometimes misdated and misleading. I looked for a solid
translation of Gramsci and this might be one:

Selections from political writings (1910-1920)
Antonio Gramsci, Amadeo Bordiga, Quintin Hoare - 1977

To tell the truth, to arrive together at the truth, is a communist and
revolutionary act.

http://books.google.com/books?id=ZMVIAAAAYAAJ&q=%22revolutionary+act%22#search_anchor


WikiQuote has this to say:
Antonio Gramsci: Misattributed

To tell the truth is revolutionary.

The first number of L'Ordine Nuovo, edited by Gramsci, appeared in
1921 with this motto of Ferdinand Lassalle on the first page. It is
often misattributed to Gramsci.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramsci


I think that using the term misattribution is an oversimplification.
There are multiple versions of the quotation and Gramsci did write a
version. The Gramsci/newspaper-motto quote evolved over time and by
the 1980s there are variants closer to the Science-Dimension quote.

The combination of a Gramsci-style quote and Orwell's 1984 has
occurred before, but the previous subject was sex and not truth:

Commentary: Volume 50, Issue 6
American Jewish Committee - 1970 - Snippet view

...  And to Orwell's simple- minded assertion, in Nineteen
Eighty-Four, that sex could be a revolutionary act, Marcuse would ...

http://books.google.com/books?id=WbYeAAAAMAAJ&q=+%22revolutionary+act%22#search_anchor


Arts in society: Volume 10
University of Wisconsin. University Extension Division - 1973 - Snippet view

Sanjines has said that "the exposure of truth is the most
revolutionary cultural action." ln exile since the end of the Torres
regime, he has made his newest film for RAl, the ltalian television
network. ...

http://books.google.com/books?id=vUCxAAAAIAAJ&q=%22most+revolutionary%22#search_anchor


Dissertation abstracts international: The humanities and social ...
University Microfilms, University Microfilms International - 1981 - Snippet view

It is through work on the autobiography that Wright articulated for
himself the importance of language, recognizing that in a racist
society speaking the truth could be a revolutionary act

http://books.google.com/books?id=EXIvAQAAIAAJ&q=%22revolutionary+act%22#search_anchor

Garson

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