He hesitated, then, almost as though he were surprised at his own words, he said, “Go, and sin no more!”" - Meaning and context.">
Chapter 18, “End of an Investigation” (p. 202)

I have been trying, friend Julius, to understand some remarks Elijah made to me earlier. Perhaps I am beginning to, for it suddenly seems to me that the destruction of what should not be, that is, the destruction of what you people call evil, is less just and desirable than the conversion of this evil into what you call good.
He hesitated, then, almost as though he were surprised at his own words, he said, “Go, and sin no more!”

— Isaac Asimov

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I have been trying, friend Julius, to understand some remarks Elijah made to me earlier. Perhaps I am beginning to, for it suddenly seems to me that the destruction of what should not be, that is, the destruction of what you people call evil, is less just and desirable than the conversion of this evil into what you call good.
He hesitated, then, almost as though he were surprised at his own words, he said, “Go, and sin no more!”" in the context of "Chapter 18, “End of an Investigation” (p. 202)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Isaac Asimov" (Quotes, Robot series (1950-1985), The Caves of Steel (1954): Numerous editions. All page numbers here are from the omnibus hardcover book club edition published by Doubleday ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Isaac Asimov

About Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov (c. 2 January 1920 – 6 April 1992) was a Russian-born American biochemist who was a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction, his works include the Foundation series and I, Robot.