--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cruelty and fear shake hands together. An…" description: "\"“Cruelty and fear shake hands together. An unfulfilled vocation drains the color from a man's entire existence.”\" — Honoré de Balzac" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c60/honor-de-balzac-197_cruelty_cruelty-and-fear-shake-hands-together-an_2333665.png" --- # Cruelty and fear shake hands together. An unfulfilled… ![“Cruelty and fear shake hands together. An unfulfilled vocation drains the color from a man's entire existence.” quote by Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c60/honor-de-balzac-197_cruelty_cruelty-and-fear-shake-hands-together-an_2333665.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c60/honor-de-balzac-197_cruelty_cruelty-and-fear-shake-hands-together-an_2333665.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c60/honor-de-balzac-197_cruelty_cruelty-and-fear-shake-hands-together-an_2333665.png) > ““Cruelty and fear shake hands together. An unfulfilled vocation drains the color from a man's entire existence.”” [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear and cruelty corrupt life, and lacking purpose drains vitality from existence. **In simple terms:** Fear and cruelty kill purpose. Key Takeaway Find purpose to restore color. Themes fear cruelty purpose existence Mood somber thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career stagnation - personal crisis - creative block Key Concepts nihilism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What vocation fulfills you? - How does fear affect your daily life? A Different Perspective Purpose alone may not cure fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Cruelty Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty-fear-2751805/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Hands together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands-together/) [Hands Unfulfilled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands-unfulfilled-5623660/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Unfulfilled Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfulfilled-vocation-5623659/) ## Related quotes > [Cruelty and fear shake hands together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/cruelty-and-fear-shake-hands-together/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [An unfulfilled vocation drains the color from a man's entire existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/an-unfulfilled-vocation-drains-the-color-from-a-man-s-entire-existence/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I am profoundly fascinated by cruelty, fear, horror and death. 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Never forsake a woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/oh-my-friend-when-you-love-love-a-woman-whom-you-are-sure-that-you/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“You have broken the ice, though you have not even scratched its glossy surface: you have placed your hand upon the croup of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/you-have-broken-the-ice-though-you-have-not-even-scratched-its-glossy/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [In a world of hunchbacks, a fine figure becomes a monstrosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/in-a-world-of-hunchbacks-a-fine-figure-becomes-a-monstrosity/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-quite-right-what-they-say-the-three-most-beautiful-sights-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [My writing table has seen all my wretchedness, knows all my plans, has overheard all my thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/my-writing-table-has-seen-all-my-wretchedness-knows-all-my-plans-has/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Foppery, being the chronic condition of women, is not so much noticed as it is when it breaks out on the person of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/foppery-being-the-chronic-condition-of-women-is-not-so-much-noticed/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [A married woman is a slave you must know how to seat upon a throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/a-married-woman-is-a-slave-you-must-know-how-to-seat-upon-a-throne/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Rich men are resolved to be astonished at nothing. When they see a masterpiece, they must needs at one glance recognize some flaw to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/rich-men-are-resolved-to-be-astonished-at-nothing-when-they-see-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I am a galley slave to pen and ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/i-am-a-galley-slave-to-pen-and-ink/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/one-can-imagine-the-look-the-two-lovers-exchanged-it-was-like-a-flame/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [White and shining virgin of all human virtues, ark of the covenant between earth and heaven, tender and strong companion partaking of the lion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/white-and-shining-virgin-of-all-human-virtues-ark-of-the-covenant/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All men can bear a familiar, definite misfortune better than the cruel alternations of a fate which, from one moment to another, brings excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-men-can-bear-a-familiar-definite-misfortune-better-than-the-cruel/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [The mind, too, has its regimen. It needs gymnastics, just like the body does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-mind-too-has-its-regimen-it-needs-gymnastics-just-like-the-body/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Hatred like love feeds on the merest trifles. Everything adds to it. Just as the being we love can do no wrong, so the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/hatred-like-love-feeds-on-the-merest-trifles-everything-adds-to-it/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [All human power is a compound of time and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-human-power-is-a-compound-of-time-and-patience/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) [Explore all 793 Honoré de Balzac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## More Cruelty quotes > [It revealed a cruelty that really made one wonder if the universe was such a good idea after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/it-revealed-a-cruelty-that-really-made-one-wonder-if-the-universe-was/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [There's a certain edge about cruelty. 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That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You must learn that to endure cruelty is to become cruel yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bleach/you-must-learn-that-to-endure-cruelty-is-to-become-cruel-yourself/) [Bleach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bleach/) > [“in every pleasure, cruelty has its place...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-every-pleasure-cruelty-has-its-place/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Old people deserves a medal, a medal of existence which crowns their long-term victory against the cruelty of time and the dangers of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/old-people-deserves-a-medal-a-medal-of-existence-which-crowns-their/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) [Browse all 1,675 Cruelty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Cruelty and fear shake hands together. 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