“We heard the shots in the night
But nobody knew next day what the trouble was
And a man must go to his work.”

— Stephen Vincent Benét

Litany for Dictatorships (1935)
Context: We heard the shots in the night
But nobody knew next day what the trouble was
And a man must go to his work.
So I didn't see him
For three days, then, and me near out of my mind
And all the patrols on the streets with their dirty guns
And when he came back, he looked drunk, and the blood was on him.

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Stephen Vincent Benét 102

poet, short story writer, novelist 1898–1943

Related quotes

“We heard the shots in the night
But nobody knew next day what the trouble was
And a man must go to his work.
So I didn't see him
For three days, then, and me near out of my mind
And all the patrols on the streets with their dirty guns
And when he came back, he looked drunk, and the blood was on him.”

Stephen Vincent Benét (1898–1943) poet, short story writer, novelist

Source: Litany for Dictatorships (1935)

“I always worked until I had something done and I always stopped when I knew what was going to happen next. That way I could be sure of going on the next day.”

Ernest Hemingway book A Moveable Feast

Source: A Moveable Feast

“Nobody knew the Iron Man had fallen.
Night passed.”

Ted Hughes book The Iron Man

Source: The Iron Man (1968), Ch. 1 : The Coming of the Iron Man

“That night I knew the world was headed for trouble.”

Leó Szilárd (1898–1964) Physicist and biologist

On the experiment at University of Chicago which indicated a nuclear chain reaction was possible, as quoted in "Some Szilardisms on War, Fame, Peace", LIFE‎ magazine, Vol. 51, no. 9 (1 September 1961), p. 79
Variants:
We turned the switch, we saw the flashes, we watched them for about ten minutes — and then we switched everything off and went home. That night I knew the world was headed for sorrow...
As quoted in the Boston University Graduate Journal (1968)
We turned the switch, saw the flashes, watched for ten minutes, then switched everything off and went home. That night I knew the world was headed for sorrow.
As quoted in The Making Of The Atomic Bomb (1986) by Richard Rhodes
Context: All we had to do was lean back, turn a switch and watch a screen of a television tube. If flashes of light appeared on the screen it would mean that liberation of atomic energy would take place in our lifetime. We turned the switch, saw the flashes — we watched for about five minutes — then switched everything off and went home. That night I knew the world was headed for trouble.

“Next day I heard the Doc.'s well-whiskied laugh:
'That scum you sent last night soon died. Hooray!'”

Wilfred Owen (1893–1918) English poet and soldier (1893-1918)

The Dead-Beat
Context: p>We sent him down at last, out of the way.
Unwounded; — stout lad, too, before that strafe.
Malingering? Stretcher-bearers winked, 'Not half!' Next day I heard the Doc.'s well-whiskied laugh:
'That scum you sent last night soon died. Hooray!' </p