--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The main reason for the terrible cruelty…" description: "\"“The main reason for the terrible cruelty between men today, apart from the absence religion, is still the refined complexity of life which shields peo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/leo-tolstoy-55_cruelty_the-main-reason-for-the-terrible-cruelty_3027064.png" --- # The main reason for the terrible cruelty between men… ![“The main reason for the terrible cruelty between men today, apart from the absence religion, is still the refined complexity of life which shields people from the consequences of their actions. However cruel Attila, Genghis Khan and their followers may have been, the act of killing people…” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/leo-tolstoy-55_cruelty_the-main-reason-for-the-terrible-cruelty_3027064.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/leo-tolstoy-55_cruelty_the-main-reason-for-the-terrible-cruelty_3027064.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/leo-tolstoy-55_cruelty_the-main-reason-for-the-terrible-cruelty_3027064.png) > ““The main reason for the terrible cruelty between men today, apart from the absence religion, is still the refined complexity of life which shields people from the consequences of their actions. However cruel Attila, Genghis Khan and their followers may have been, the act of killing people personally, face to face, must have been unpleasant: the wailing relatives and the presence of the corpses. And thus their cruelty was restrained. Nowadays we kill people through such a complex process of communication, and the consequences of our cruelty are so carefully removed and concealed from us, that there is no restraint on the bestiality of the action.”” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Complex modern communication hides the impact of violence, removing natural restraints on cruelty. **In simple terms:** Modern media conceals the horror of killing. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden consequences of actions. Themes ethics technology violence humanity Mood philosophical critical Type ethical social When to use this quote - journalism - policy making - education - activism Key Concepts moral psychology media influence detachment Questions to Reflect On - How does media shape our perception of cruelty? - Can we restore empathy in distant actions? A Different Perspective Complexity can also enable accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consequences Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequences-cruelty-2627123/) [Cruel Attila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-attila-4927979/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Cruelty Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty-men-252042/) [Cruelty Restrained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty-restrained-4927980/) [Face to face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-to-face/) [Genghis Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genghis-khan/) [Killing people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing-people/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-person/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [For too long we have occupied ourselves with responding to the consequences of cruelty and abuse and have neglected the important task of building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hoyt/for-too-long-we-have-occupied-ourselves-with-responding-to-the/) [John Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hoyt/) > [Cruelty to men and to the lower animals as well, which would have passed unnoticed a century ago, now shocks the sensibilities and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elihu-root/cruelty-to-men-and-to-the-lower-animals-as-well-which-would-have/) [Elihu Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elihu-root/) > [“There is no end to the cruelty of men threatened by strong women." - Mr. Nancy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/there-is-no-end-to-the-cruelty-of-men-threatened-by-strong-women-mr/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I'm not convinced that women have the education or the sense of their own history enough or that they understand the cruelty of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-m-not-convinced-that-women-have-the-education-or-the-sense-of-their/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [There's a hole in the world like a great black pit and the vermin of the world inhabit it and its morals aren't worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-sondheim/there-s-a-hole-in-the-world-like-a-great-black-pit-and-the-vermin-of-2/) [Stephen Sondheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-sondheim/) > [“The cruelty of men had infected the land, and sea only swept in sharp waves to the shores.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayendra-abeywardane/the-cruelty-of-men-had-infected-the-land-and-sea-only-swept-in-sharp/) [Gayendra Abeywardane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayendra-abeywardane/) > [An infallible characteristic of meanness is cruelty. Men who have practiced tortures on animals without pity, relating them without shame, how can they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/an-infallible-characteristic-of-meanness-is-cruelty-men-who-have/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“But how will you bear an absentminded man who, if he happens to see you, will kill you? That is what tries the nerves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/but-how-will-you-bear-an-absentminded-man-who-if-he-happens-to-see/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“Cruelty is only for men, as is mercy. Only we can choose one or the other, and beasts cannot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/cruelty-is-only-for-men-as-is-mercy-only-we-can-choose-one-or-the/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“Little world, full of scars and gashes, ripened with another's pain, Your flowers feed on carrion--so do your birds; Men feed on each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kavanaugh/little-world-full-of-scars-and-gashes-ripened-with-another-s-pain/) [James Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kavanaugh/) > [“Marco Polo’s father, Niccolò Polo, traded with the Persians who were known to the early Europeans. These early Persians came from the province of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-the-exciting-story-of-cuba-2/marco-polo-s-father-niccol-polo-traded-with-the-persians-who-were/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "The Exciting Story of Cuba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-the-exciting-story-of-cuba-2/) > [“since the Depression, we bankers have had the leisure and . . . solitude, you might say, to think about the future. The Civil War left us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/since-the-depression-we-bankers-have-had-the-leisure-and-solitude-you/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“I have marveled at, and sometimes openly questioned, the self-restraint God has shown throughout history, allowing the Genghis Khans and the Hitlers and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/i-have-marveled-at-and-sometimes-openly-questioned-the-self-restraint/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [I've always wanted to do blow with Genghis Khan, 'bet that guy knows how to party. I also think a bottle of wine with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mendez/i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-blow-with-genghis-khan-bet-that-guy-knows/) [Mike Mendez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mendez/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. Selfish, vain, stupid, trivial in everything—that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-only-knew-what-those-society-women-are-and-women-in-general-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To speak of it would be giving importance to that which has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-speak-of-it-would-be-giving-importance-to-that-which-has-none/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## 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. If you're honest about it, most people wince, but say it had to be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-waterman/there-s-a-certain-edge-about-cruelty-if-you-re-honest-about-it-most/) [Pete Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-waterman/) > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Regarding lack of vision or disabilities of the organ of sight, it has long been known among researchers that it is the effect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/regarding-lack-of-vision-or-disabilities-of-the-organ-of-sight-it-has/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [“When you’re a monster, she thought, you are thanked and praised for not behaving like a monster. 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