George Orwell, Review of Bertrand Russell's Power: A New Social Analysis, Adelphi Magazine, January 1939 (pp.375-377). Reprinted in George Orwell, Seeing Things as They Are: Selected Journalism and Other Writings. Penguin Books, 2016.

Mr. Russell is one of the most readable of living writers, and it is very reassuring to know that he exists. So long as he and a few others like him are alive and out of jail, we know that the world is still sane in parts. He has rather an eclectic mind, he is capable of saying shallow things and profoundly interesting things in alternate sentences, and sometimes, even in this book, he is less serious than his subject. But he has an essentially decent intellect, a kind of intellectual chivalry which is far rarer than mere cleverness. Few people during the past thirty years have been so consistently impervious to the fashionable bunk of the moment.

— George Orwell

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Mr. Russell is one of the most readable of living writers, and it is very reassuring to know that he exists. So long as he and a few others like him are alive and out of jail, we know that the world is still sane in parts. He has rather an eclectic mind, he is capable of saying shallow things and profoundly interesting things in alternate sentences, and sometimes, even in this book, he is less serious than his subject. But he has an essentially decent intellect, a kind of intellectual chivalry which is far rarer than mere cleverness. Few people during the past thirty years have been so consistently impervious to the fashionable bunk of the moment." in the context of "George Orwell, Review of Bertrand Russell's Power: A New Social Analysis, Adelphi Magazine, January 1939 (pp.375-377). Reprinted in George Orwell, Seeing Things as They Are: Selected Journalism and Other Writings. Penguin Books, 2016." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Bertrand Russell" (Quotes about Russell) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 08, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bertrand Russell

About Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell (May 18, 1872 – February 2, 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. In 1950, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature.