Newly Ancient

T.S. Eliot writing on his reasons for rejecting George Orwell’s Animal Farm:

I think you split your vote, without getting any compensating strong adhesion from either party — i.e. those who criticize Russian tendencies from the point of view of a purer communism, and those who, from a very different point of view, are alarmed about the future of small nations. And after all, your pigs are far more intelligent than the other animals, and therefore the best qualified to run the farm — in fact, there couldn’t have been an Animal Farm at all without them: so that what was needed (someone might argue), was not more communism but more public-spirited pigs.

(Via John Gruber)

This Monty Python sketch, which pokes fun at famous communists and quiz shows alike, was quite funny. It’s well worth a watch for history fans and comedy lovers alike.

(Via Paul Krugman)