---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not…"
description: "\"The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.\" — Anonymous"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/anonymous-1_colony_the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-becau_137762.jpg"
---

#  The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain…

![“The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/anonymous-1_colony_the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-becau_137762.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/anonymous-1_colony_the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-becau_137762.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/anonymous-1_colony_the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-becau_137762.jpg)

> “The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.”

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Puritans opposed bear‑baiting not for animal cruelty but because it entertained spectators, reflecting moral hypocrisy.

**In simple terms:** They disliked the spectacle, not the pain.

Key Takeaway

Question entertainment that masks cruelty.

Themes

ethics spectatorship hypocrisy

Mood

critical thoughtful

Type

philosophical social

When to use this quote

- media consumption
- sports events
- cultural traditions

Key Concepts

moral philosophy animal rights social critique

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do we enjoy harmful spectacles?
- How can we shift cultural norms?

A Different Perspective

Criticism may overlook personal enjoyment; balance view.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bear Baiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bear-baiting-1564766/) [Bear Gave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bear-gave-1564767/) [Colony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colony/) [Hated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hated/) [Hated Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hated-bear-1564765/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Puritan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puritan/) [Puritan Hated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puritan-hated-1564764/)

## Related quotes

> [“The Puritans hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-puritans-hated-bear-baiting-not-because-it-gave-pain-to-the-bear/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Even bear-baiting was esteemed heathenish and unchristian: the sport of it, not the inhumanity, gave offence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hume/even-bear-baiting-was-esteemed-heathenish-and-unchristian-the-sport/)

[Alexander Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hume/)

> [The objection to Puritans is not that they try to make us think as they do, but that they try to make us do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-objection-to-puritans-is-not-that-they-try-to-make-us-think-as/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A Puritan is someone who is desperately afraid that, somewhere, someone might be having a good time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-puritan-is-someone-who-is-desperately-afraid-that-somewhere-someone/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [“A Puritan is not against bullfighting because of the pain it gives the bull, but because of the pleasure it gives the spectators.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken-2/a-puritan-is-not-against-bullfighting-because-of-the-pain-it-gives/)

[H.L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken-2/)

> [The Puritans removed organs and paintings from churches, but bought them for private use in their homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-puritans-removed-organs-and-paintings-from-churches-but-bought/)

[Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/)

> [“Too much of the old Puritan spirit exists in these parts to the present hour; but its influence has not tended, that I know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/too-much-of-the-old-puritan-spirit-exists-in-these-parts-to-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [The English Puritans pulled down church and state to rebuild Zion on the ruins, and all the while it was not Zion, but America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-english-puritans-pulled-down-church-and-state-to-rebuild-zion-on/)

[James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/)

> [My brothers and sister and I were brought up in an atmosphere which I would describe as 'Puritan decadence'. Puritanism names the behaviour which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/my-brothers-and-sister-and-i-were-brought-up-in-an-atmosphere-which-i/)

[Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/)

> [The Puritans left England for America not because they couldn't be Puritans in their mother country, but because they were not allowed to force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-puritans-left-england-for-america-not-because-they-couldn-t-be/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [A puritan is such a one as loves God with all his soul, but hates his neighbor with all his heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nicolson/a-puritan-is-such-a-one-as-loves-god-with-all-his-soul-but-hates-his/)

[Adam Nicolson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nicolson/)

> [The Puritans' sense of priorities in life was one of their greatest strengths. Putting God first and valuing everything else in relation to God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-puritans-sense-of-priorities-in-life-was-one-of-their-greatest/)

[Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/)

> [We think the Puritans always dressed in black and white, which they didn't. They loved very bright colors. And there were other differences in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlisle-floyd/we-think-the-puritans-always-dressed-in-black-and-white-which-they/)

[Carlisle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlisle-floyd/)

> [The Puritans came to America to worship in their way and to force everybody else to do the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-levenson/the-puritans-came-to-america-to-worship-in-their-way-and-to-force/)

[Sam Levenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-levenson/)

> [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

## More by Anonymous

> [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

[Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More Colony quotes

> [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/)

[Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/)

> [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [Our country has shown a lack of will to resist its own disintegration .. . Canada is practically the only country left in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/our-country-has-shown-a-lack-of-will-to-resist-its-own-disintegration/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [We from every religion feel comfortable in Britain because there is a host. The Church of England is a good host, it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/we-from-every-religion-feel-comfortable-in-britain-because-there-is-a/)

[Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/)

> [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [The Puritans came to America to worship in their way and to force everybody else to do the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-levenson/the-puritans-came-to-america-to-worship-in-their-way-and-to-force/)

[Sam Levenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-levenson/)

> [Europe becomes more and more a province of Islam, a colony of Islam. And Italy is an outpost of that province, a stronghold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/europe-becomes-more-and-more-a-province-of-islam-a-colony-of-islam/)

[Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/)

> [Life as the chosen religious figure for a colony of cryptid mice can be a lot of things, but it's definitely never boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-as-the-chosen-religious-figure-for-a-colony-of-cryptid-mice-can/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We think the Puritans always dressed in black and white, which they didn't. They loved very bright colors. And there were other differences in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlisle-floyd/we-think-the-puritans-always-dressed-in-black-and-white-which-they/)

[Carlisle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlisle-floyd/)

> [“To boldly go where no uploaded metahuman colony has gone before”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/to-boldly-go-where-no-uploaded-metahuman-colony-has-gone-before/)

[Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/)

> [Your late purchase of an estate in the colony of Cayenne, with a view to emancipating the slaves on it, is a generous and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/your-late-purchase-of-an-estate-in-the-colony-of-cayenne-with-a-view/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [“It was as Hester said, in regard to the unwanted jollity that brightened the faces of the people. Into this festal season of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-was-as-hester-said-in-regard-to-the-unwanted-jollity-that/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [Mars tugs at the human imagination like no other planet. With a force mightier than gravity, it attracts the eye to its shimmering red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-noble-wilford/mars-tugs-at-the-human-imagination-like-no-other-planet-with-a-force/)

[John Noble Wilford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-noble-wilford/)

> [The Puritans' sense of priorities in life was one of their greatest strengths. Putting God first and valuing everything else in relation to God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-puritans-sense-of-priorities-in-life-was-one-of-their-greatest/)

[Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/)

[Browse all 326 Colony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colony/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anonymous"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-because-it-gave-pain-to-the-bear/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Colony"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-because-it-gave-pain-to-the-bear/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/anonymous-1_colony_the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-becau_137762.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/anonymous-1_colony_the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-becau_137762.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/anonymous-1_colony_the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-becau_137762.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the…” — Anonymous",
                "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": "Anonymous",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-because-it-gave-pain-to-the-bear/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-because-it-gave-pain-to-the-bear/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
