--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No matter how limited their powers of…" description: "\"“No matter how limited their powers of reason might have been. still they must have understood that living like that was just murder, a capital crime -..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_capital-punishment_no-matter-how-limited-their-powers-of-re_2420464.jpg" --- # No matter how limited their powers of reason might have… ![“No matter how limited their powers of reason might have been. still they must have understood that living like that was just murder, a capital crime - except it was slow, day-by-day murder. The government (or humanity) could not permit capital punishment for one man, but they permitted the murder…” quote by Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_capital-punishment_no-matter-how-limited-their-powers-of-re_2420464.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_capital-punishment_no-matter-how-limited-their-powers-of-re_2420464.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_capital-punishment_no-matter-how-limited-their-powers-of-re_2420464.jpg) > ““No matter how limited their powers of reason might have been. still they must have understood that living like that was just murder, a capital crime - except it was slow, day-by-day murder. The government (or humanity) could not permit capital punishment for one man, but they permitted the murder of millions a little at a time. To kill one man - that is, to subtract 50 years from the sum of all human lives - that was a crime; but to subtract from the sum of all human lives 50,000,000 years - that was not a crime! No, really, isn't it funny? This problem in moral math could be solved in half a minute by any ten-year-old Number today, but they couldn't solve it. All their Kant's together couldn't solve it (because it never occurred to one of their Kant's to construct a system of scientific ethics - that is, one based on subtraction, addition, division, and multiplication).”” [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) ## 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 argues that large‑scale loss of life is morally dismissed compared to individual murder, exposing a flaw in collective moral calculations. **In simple terms:** Mass deaths are seen as less criminal than killing one person. Key Takeaway Recognize that numbers can mask moral responsibility. Themes ethics politics humanity morality scale justice Mood critical somber reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy making - war - public health - environmental impact - population control Key Concepts utilitarianism dehumanization moral calculus Questions to Reflect On - How does society justify large‑scale harm? - Can moral math ever capture human dignity? A Different Perspective It assumes all lives are equal in value and ignores qualitative differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capital punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-punishment/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) ## Related quotes > [“But still, how could they write whole libraries about someone like Kant and hardly even notice Taylor-that prophet who could see ten centuries ahead?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/but-still-how-could-they-write-whole-libraries-about-someone-like/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“The government (or humanity) would not permit capital punishment for one man, but they permitted the murder of millions a little at a time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/the-government-or-humanity-would-not-permit-capital-punishment-for/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Among the aimless, unsuccessful or worthless, you often hear talk about 'killing time.' The man who is always killing time is really killing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/among-the-aimless-unsuccessful-or-worthless-you-often-hear-talk-about/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [“The next morning after finishing my interviews, I found myself with some time to kill before the bus arrived to return me to Whitby.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-christmas/the-next-morning-after-finishing-my-interviews-i-found-myself-with/) Jane Christmas > [When inspiration comes life is lived in the moment and peace descends. When inspiration leaves thoughts turn to violently killing time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/when-inspiration-comes-life-is-lived-in-the-moment-and-peace-descends/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“One of the reasons why I liked living in Manhattan was that the city would share your mood the moment you walked out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-carroll/one-of-the-reasons-why-i-liked-living-in-manhattan-was-that-the-city/) [Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-carroll/) > [I may not look it, but I can be a very patient guy. And killing time is one of my specialities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-may-not-look-it-but-i-can-be-a-very-patient-guy-and-killing-time-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I do crosswords when I have time to kill somewhere, and am 100 percent successful on filling in the spots I get stuck on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/i-do-crosswords-when-i-have-time-to-kill-somewhere-and-am-100-percent/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [“A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/a-time-to-be-born-and-a-time-to-die-a-time-to-plant-and-a-time-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Killing time is not murder, it is suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/killing-time-is-not-murder-it-is-suicide/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [One sin seldom mentioned is that of killing time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/one-sin-seldom-mentioned-is-that-of-killing-time/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [“I don’t have time to kill you, and you don’t have time to die, because I’m not into redundancy, and you’re already dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-don-t-have-time-to-kill-you-and-you-don-t-have-time-to-die-because/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [We loved killing time and had perfected several ways of doing so. We wandered the hallways carrying papers that indicated some mission of business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/we-loved-killing-time-and-had-perfected-several-ways-of-doing-so-we/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [And since we all came from a woman Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman..I wonder why we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac/and-since-we-all-came-from-a-woman-got-our-name-from-a-woman-and-our/) [Tupac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac/) > [“What are you reading?’ he asks this afternoon. ‘Kafka’s Metamorphosis,’ George says, without looking up. ‘And what’s it about?’ ‘Guy turns into a giant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/what-are-you-reading-he-asks-this-afternoon-kafka-s-metamorphosis/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) ## More by Yevgeny Zamyatin > [“Homo sapiens is only man, in the fullest sense of the word, when his grammar contains no question marks, only exclamation marks, commas, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/homo-sapiens-is-only-man-in-the-fullest-sense-of-the-word-when-his/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [knowledge, absolutely sure of its infallibility, is faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/knowledge-absolutely-sure-of-its-infallibility-is-faith/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“Do you know this feeling? When you're in an aero speeding up through a blue spiral, the window open, the wind whistling, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/do-you-know-this-feeling-when-you-re-in-an-aero-speeding-up-through-a/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [ “Heretics are the only \[bitter\] remedy against the entropy of human thought. ("Literature, Revolution, and Entropy")” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/heretics-are-the-only-bitter-remedy-against-the-entropy-of-human/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [And everyone must lose his mind, everyone must! The sooner the better! It is essential — I know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/and-everyone-must-lose-his-mind-everyone-must-the-sooner-the-better/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“No, I did not understand. But I nodded silently. I was dissolved, I was infinitely small, I was a point... There is, after all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/no-i-did-not-understand-but-i-nodded-silently-i-was-dissolved-i-was/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Revolution is everywhere, in everything. There is no final revolution, no final number.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/revolution-is-everywhere-in-everything-there-is-no-final-revolution/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [In adopting the form of the adventure novel, Wells deepened it, raised its intellectual value, and brought into it elements of social philosophy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/in-adopting-the-form-of-the-adventure-novel-wells-deepened-it-raised/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“You're in a bad way! Apparently, you have developed a soul." A soul? That strange, ancient, long-forgotten word. We sometimes use the words "soul-stirring,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/you-re-in-a-bad-way-apparently-you-have-developed-a-soul-a-soul-that/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“But how was I going to explain my whole being, this whole disease that I've been jotting down in these pages? So I shut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/but-how-was-i-going-to-explain-my-whole-being-this-whole-disease-that/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [The lilac branches are bowed under the weight of the flowers: blooming is hard, and the most important thing is - to bloom. (“A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/the-lilac-branches-are-bowed-under-the-weight-of-the-flowers-blooming/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [what primitive tastes the ancients must have had if their poets were inspired by those absurd, untidy clumps of mist, idiotically jostling one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/what-primitive-tastes-the-ancients-must-have-had-if-their-poets-were/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“I felt I hadn't breathed since early morning, that my heart had not beat-and only now for the first time I took a breath,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/i-felt-i-hadn-t-breathed-since-early-morning-that-my-heart-had-not/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“What is the matter -a soul? You say a soul? Oh, damn it! We may soon retrogress even to the cholera epidemics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/what-is-the-matter-a-soul-you-say-a-soul-oh-damn-it-we-may-soon/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [The literature of the immediate future will inevitably turn away from painting, whether respectably realistic or modern, and from daily life, whether old or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/the-literature-of-the-immediate-future-will-inevitably-turn-away-from/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) [Explore all 263 Yevgeny Zamyatin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) ## More Capital punishment quotes > [“The next time believers tell you that 'separation of church and state' does not appear in our founding document, tell them to stop using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barker/the-next-time-believers-tell-you-that-separation-of-church-and-state/) [Dan Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barker/) > [“The very mention of crucifixion was taboo in polite Roman circles, since it was the lowest form of capital punishment, reserved for slaves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-very-mention-of-crucifixion-was-taboo-in-polite-roman-circles/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/it-is-better-and-more-satisfactory-to-acquit-a-thousand-guilty/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Let us leave the EEC, abolish human rights laws, take TV sets, pool tables and phones out of prisons, bring back corporal and capital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-bates/let-us-leave-the-eec-abolish-human-rights-laws-take-tv-sets-pool/) [Ken Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-bates/) > [ The law which attempts a man's life \[capital punishment\] is impractical, unjust, inadmissible. It has never repressed crime--for a second crime is every day… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/the-law-which-attempts-a-man-s-life-capital-punishment-is-impractical/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Capital punishment kills immediately, whereas lifetime imprisonment does so slowly. Which executioner is more humane? The one who kills you in a few minutes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/capital-punishment-kills-immediately-whereas-lifetime-imprisonment/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-take-a-life-when-a-life-has-been-lost-is-revenge-not-justice/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Capital punishment...treats members of the human race...as objects to be toyed with and discarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/capital-punishment-treats-members-of-the-human-race-as-objects-to-be/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [But now inquiry is being made concerning these issues. First, can any believer enlist in the military? Second, can any soldier, even those of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/but-now-inquiry-is-being-made-concerning-these-issues-first-can-any/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [Capital punishment would be more effective as a preventive measure if it were administered prior to the crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/capital-punishment-would-be-more-effective-as-a-preventive-measure-if/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [ “\[T\]here are some human rights that are so deep that we can't negotiate them away. I mean people do heinous, terrible things. But there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sister-helen-prejean/t-here-are-some-human-rights-that-are-so-deep-that-we-can-t-negotiate/) Sister Helen Prejean > [I favor capital punishment. It saves lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-reagan/i-favor-capital-punishment-it-saves-lives/) [Nancy Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-reagan/) > [It is significant that, as innocent babies are killed, and capital punishment is withheld from their murderers, the same men who plead for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-rushdoony/it-is-significant-that-as-innocent-babies-are-killed-and-capital/) [R.J. Rushdoony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-rushdoony/) > [I don't know if the question is whether you believe in capital punishment anymore. I think the greater question is its effectiveness and given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tani-cantil-sakauye/i-don-t-know-if-the-question-is-whether-you-believe-in-capital/) Tani Cantil-Sakauye > [“Zwingli's introduction of capital punishment for those who differed from him on points of doctrine..." p179”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-h-broadbent-the-pilgrim-church/zwingli-s-introduction-of-capital-punishment-for-those-who-differed/) [E.H. Broadbent- The Pilgrim Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-h-broadbent-the-pilgrim-church/) [Browse all 209 Capital punishment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-punishment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“No matter how limited their powers of reason might have been. still they must have understood that living like that was just murder, a capital crime - except it was slow, day-by-day murder. The government (or humanity) could not permit capital punishment for one man, but they permitted the murder of millions a little at a time. To kill one man - that is, to subtract 50 years from the sum of all human lives - that was a crime; but to subtract from the sum of all human lives 50,000,000 years - that was not a crime! No, really, isn't it funny? This problem in moral math could be solved in half a minute by any ten-year-old Number today, but they couldn't solve it. All their Kant's together couldn't solve it (because it never occurred to one of their Kant's to construct a system of scientific ethics - that is, one based on subtraction, addition, division, and multiplication).”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yevgeny Zamyatin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/no-matter-how-limited-their-powers-of-reason-might-have-been-still/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Capital punishment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/no-matter-how-limited-their-powers-of-reason-might-have-been-still/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_capital-punishment_no-matter-how-limited-their-powers-of-re_2420464.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_capital-punishment_no-matter-how-limited-their-powers-of-re_2420464.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_capital-punishment_no-matter-how-limited-their-powers-of-re_2420464.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No matter how limited their powers of reason might have been. still they must have understood that living…” — Yevgeny Zamyatin", "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": "Yevgeny Zamyatin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“No matter how limited their powers...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/no-matter-how-limited-their-powers-of-reason-might-have-been-still/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/no-matter-how-limited-their-powers-of-reason-might-have-been-still/#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 } } ] } ```