Letter to Adlai Stevenson (5 November 1959), quoted in The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography (1984), by Jackson J. Benson, p. 876
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If I wanted to destroy a nation, I would give it too much and I would have it on its knees, miserable, greedy and sick.
— John Steinbeck
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "If I wanted to destroy a nation, I would give it too much and I would have it on its knees, miserable, greedy and sick." in the context of "Letter to Adlai Stevenson (5 November 1959), quoted in The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography (1984), by Jackson J. Benson, p. 876" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "John Steinbeck" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (27 February 1902 – 20 December 1968) was an American writer. A recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, his works include the novella Of Mice and Men (1937) and the novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1940), both of which examine the lives of the working class and migrant workers during the Great Depression.
About John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (27 February 1902 – 20 December 1968) was an American writer. A recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, his works include the novella Of Mice and Men (1937) and the novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1940), both of which examine the lives of the working class and migrant workers during the Great Depression.
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