--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would seem that in history it's never…" description: "\"It would seem that in history it's never a tooth for a tooth, but a thousand, a hundred thousand for one.\" — Sybille Bedford" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d74/sybille-bedford-33740_history_it-would-seem-that-in-history-it-s-never_3164731.png" --- # It would seem that in history it's never a tooth for a… ![“It would seem that in history it's never a tooth for a tooth, but a thousand, a hundred thousand for one.” quote by Sybille Bedford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d74/sybille-bedford-33740_history_it-would-seem-that-in-history-it-s-never_3164731.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d74/sybille-bedford-33740_history_it-would-seem-that-in-history-it-s-never_3164731.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d74/sybille-bedford-33740_history_it-would-seem-that-in-history-it-s-never_3164731.png) > “It would seem that in history it's never a tooth for a tooth, but a thousand, a hundred thousand for one.” [Sybille Bedford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybille-bedford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that historical retribution is disproportionate, often inflicting massive harm for a single offense. **In simple terms:** History shows retaliation is often excessive. Key Takeaway Beware of disproportionate revenge. Themes justice retribution history proportionality Mood reflective critical serious Type aphilosophical political When to use this quote - legal systems - international conflicts - personal vendettas - social movements Key Concepts ethics power dynamics historical cycles Questions to Reflect On - Is retaliation ever truly fair? - How can societies enforce proportional justice? A Different Perspective Revenge can perpetuate cycles of violence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/an-eye-for-an-eye-and-a-tooth-for-a-tooth/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I'm so three thousand and eight. You so two thousand and late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-so-three-thousand-and-eight-you-so-two-thousand-and-late/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A year. A thousand kisses. And now a thousand one, a thousand two. 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Properly brushed, twice a day, every day, to get my day started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cruz/i-don-t-mess-around-when-it-comes-to-brushing-my-teeth-properly/) [Victor Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cruz/) > [I've always been unhappy with my teeth. 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In France one has to be interesting, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybille-bedford/in-europe-where-human-relations-like-clothes-are-supposed-to-last-one/) [Sybille Bedford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybille-bedford/) > [I write because I'm a writer. It is rather like cooking: to make something out of the raw material at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybille-bedford/i-write-because-i-m-a-writer-it-is-rather-like-cooking-to-make/) [Sybille Bedford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybille-bedford/) > [“Architecture without pain, art looked at in undiluted pleasure, enjoyment without anxiety, compunction, heartache: there is no beggar woman in the church door, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybille-bedford/architecture-without-pain-art-looked-at-in-undiluted-pleasure/) [Sybille Bedford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybille-bedford/) > [I detest . . . anything over-cooked, over-herbed, over-sauced, over elaborate. 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The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It would seem that in history it's never a tooth for a tooth, but a thousand, a hundred thousand for one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sybille Bedford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybille-bedford/it-would-seem-that-in-history-it-s-never-a-tooth-for-a-tooth-but-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybille-bedford/it-would-seem-that-in-history-it-s-never-a-tooth-for-a-tooth-but-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d74/sybille-bedford-33740_history_it-would-seem-that-in-history-it-s-never_3164731.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d74/sybille-bedford-33740_history_it-would-seem-that-in-history-it-s-never_3164731.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d74/sybille-bedford-33740_history_it-would-seem-that-in-history-it-s-never_3164731.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It would seem that in history it's never a tooth for a tooth, but a thousand, a hundred thousand for one.” — Sybille Bedford", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sybille Bedford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybille-bedford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It would seem that in history...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybille-bedford/it-would-seem-that-in-history-it-s-never-a-tooth-for-a-tooth-but-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybille-bedford/it-would-seem-that-in-history-it-s-never-a-tooth-for-a-tooth-but-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```