Power, which seem rather empty, that is merely to say that we have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.
• Paraphrased variant: Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious." - Meaning and context.">
Review of Power: A New Social Analysis by Bertrand Russell in The Adelphi (January 1939)
“

If there are certain pages of Mr Bertrand Russell's book, Power, which seem rather empty, that is merely to say that we have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.
• Paraphrased variant: Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious.

— George Orwell

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "If there are certain pages of Mr Bertrand Russell's book, Power, which seem rather empty, that is merely to say that we have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.
• Paraphrased variant: Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious." in the context of "Review of Power: A New Social Analysis by Bertrand Russell in The Adelphi (January 1939)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "George Orwell" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 28, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#George Orwell#restatement#intelligent#obvious#duty#paraphrased#sometimes#bertrand#russells#men bull#certain#variant
George Orwell

About George Orwell

George Orwell (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was the pen name of British novelist, essayist, and journalist Eric Arthur Blair, whose work is characterised by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and strong support of democratic socialism.