Insecurity twists meanings and poisons trust. In a closely beleaguered city every sentry is a potential traitor.
Graham GreeneRead
Any man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that people's desires often stem from a search for deeper meaning or fulfillment in life.
Graham Greene's quote implies that the act of seeking pleasure or comfort, as represented by knocking on the door of a brothel, is driven by a deeper yearning for spiritual connection or understanding, often referred to as the search for God. It reflects the complexity of human motivations, where physical desires can mask a profound quest for meaning and belonging, highlighting the interplay between earthly pursuits and spiritual aspirations.
Themes
SearchDesireSpiritualityHuman NatureMeaning
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a lecture discussing the philosophical aspects of human desires.
More from Graham Greene
All quotes →It seemed to Scobie that life was immeasurably long. Couldn’t the test of man have been carried out in fewer years? Couldn’t we have committed our first major sin at seven, have ruined ourselves for love or hate at ten, have clutched at redemption on a fifteen-year-old deathbed?
Graham GreeneRead
God is love. I don't say the heart doesn't feel a taste of it, but what a taste. The smallest glass of love mixed with a pint pot of ditch-water. We wouldn't recognize that love. It might even look like hate. It would be enough to scare us - God's love.
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Of two hearts one is always warm and one is always cold: the cold heart is more precious than diamonds: the warm heart has no value and is thrown away.
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Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.
Graham GreeneRead
Champagne, if you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully.
Graham GreeneRead
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