Albert Camus, “Reflections on the Guillotine,” Resistance, Rebellion and Death (1961).
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Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders, to which no criminal’s deed, however calculated, can be compared. For there to be an equivalency, the death penalty would have to punish a criminal who had warned his victim of the date on which he would inflict a horrible death on him and who, from that moment onward, had confined him at his mercy for months. Such a monster is not to be encountered in private life.
— Albert Camus on Capital punishment
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders, to which no criminal’s deed, however calculated, can be compared. For there to be an equivalency, the death penalty would have to punish a criminal who had warned his victim of the date on which he would inflict a horrible death on him and who, from that moment onward, had confined him at his mercy for months. Such a monster is not to be encountered in private life." in the context of "Albert Camus, “Reflections on the Guillotine,” Resistance, Rebellion and Death (1961)." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Capital punishment" (C)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Albert Camus
Albert Camus (November 7, 1913 – January 4, 1960) was a French Pied-Noir author, absurdist philosopher and winner of the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature.
About Albert Camus
Albert Camus (November 7, 1913 – January 4, 1960) was a French Pied-Noir author, absurdist philosopher and winner of the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature.
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