[DavidM]

long,
indefinite time -- weeks, possibly -- and the intervals between the
sessions might sometimes have been days, sometimes only an hour or two.
'As you lie there,' said O'Brien, 'you have often wondered -- you have
even asked me -- why the Ministry of Love should expend so much time and
trouble on you. And when you were free you were puzzled by what was
essentially the same question. You could grasp the mechanics of the Society
you lived in, but not its underlying motives. Do you remember writing in
your diary, "I understand how: I do not understand why"? It was when you
thought about "why" that you doubted your own sanity. You have read the
book, Goldstein's book, or parts of it, at least. Did it tell you anything
that you did not know already?'
'You have read it?' said Winston.
'I wrote it. That is to say, I collaborated in writing it. No book is
produced individually, as you know.'
'Is it true, what it says?'
'A description, yes. The programme it sets forth is nonsense. The
secret accumulation of knowledge -- a gradual spread of enlightenment --
ultimately a proletarian rebellion -- the overthrow of the Party. You
foresaw yourself that that was what it would say. It is all nonsense. The
proletarians will never revolt, not in a thousand years or a million. They
cannot. I do not have to tell you the reason: you know it already. If you
have ever cherished any dreams of violent insurrection, you must abandon
them. There is no way in which the Party can be overthrown. The rule of the
Party is for ever. Make that the starting-point of your thoughts.'
He came closer to the bed. 'For ever!' he repeated. 'And now let us
get back to the question of "how" and "why". You understand well enough how
the Party maintains itself in power. Now tell me why we cling to power.
What is our motive? Why should we want power?