“Talking so quietly; when they hear the cars
And the knock at the door, and they look at each other quickly
And the woman goes to the door with a stiff face,
Smoothing her dress.
"We are all good citizens here. We believe in the Perfect State."”
Litany for Dictatorships (1935)
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Stephen Vincent Benét 102
poet, short story writer, novelist 1898–1943Related quotes

“A man knocking on the door of a brothel is looking for God.”
The source is actually a 1945 book by Bruce Marshall, The World, The Flesh, and Father Smith, in which he says, "...the young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God."
Misattributed
Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking