Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Wilhelm Meister’s Travels, from Makarie’s Archive (1829).
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If we could do away with death, we wouldn’t object; to do away with capital punishment will be more difficult. Were that to happen, we would reinstate it from time to time.
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on Capital punishment
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "If we could do away with death, we wouldn’t object; to do away with capital punishment will be more difficult. Were that to happen, we would reinstate it from time to time." in the context of "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Wilhelm Meister’s Travels, from Makarie’s Archive (1829)." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Capital punishment" (G)
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 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it,