From a letter to Beatrice Webb (1938), as cited in Dan H. Laurence (ed) Bernard Shaw: Collected Letters 1926-1950, New York: Viking (1988), p. 493

We ought to tackle the Jewish question by admitting the right of States to make eugenic experiments by weeding out any strains that they think undesirable, but insisting that they should do it as humanely as they can afford to, and not shock civilization by such misdemeanors as the expulsion and robbery of Einstein.

— George Bernard Shaw

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "We ought to tackle the Jewish question by admitting the right of States to make eugenic experiments by weeding out any strains that they think undesirable, but insisting that they should do it as humanely as they can afford to, and not shock civilization by such misdemeanors as the expulsion and robbery of Einstein." in the context of "From a letter to Beatrice Webb (1938), as cited in Dan H. Laurence (ed) Bernard Shaw: Collected Letters 1926-1950, New York: Viking (1988), p. 493" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "George Bernard Shaw" (Quotes, 1930s) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
George Bernard Shaw

About George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist with a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory. He wrote more than sixty plays, including such works as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925.