Yevgeny Zamyatin — We [189]

Lilies of the valley smell good. Very well. But you cannot speak of smell itself, of the concept ‘smell’ as either good or bad. You cannot, can you? There is the fragrance of lilies of the valley—and there is the vile stench of henbane: both are smells. There were spies in the ancient state—and there are spies in ours … yes, spies. I am not afraid of words. But it is clear that those spies were henbane, and ours are lilies of the valley. Yes, lilies of the valley! — Yevgeny Zamyatin, We, 189

Note

The ludicrous defense of state surveillance through botanical analogy exposes the absurdity of ideological rationalization under stress.