Isaac Asimov, Foundation, Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1942, (This appears three times in "Bridle and Saddle" which is titled "The Mayors" in the 1951 novelization). It plays on the famous quote by Samuel Johnson (1775): "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
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Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. It is the only resort by which incompetent men can thrive. The bully, the brute, the dictator.
— Isaac Asimov on Violence
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. It is the only resort by which incompetent men can thrive. The bully, the brute, the dictator." in the context of "Isaac Asimov, Foundation, Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1942, (This appears three times in "Bridle and Saddle" which is titled "The Mayors" in the 1951 novelization). It plays on the famous quote by Samuel Johnson (1775): "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Violence" (A)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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.
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.
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