--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man has a very insecure tenure of a…" description: "\"A man has a very insecure tenure of a property which another can carry away with his eyes. A few months reduced me to the cruel necessity either of des..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bf/samuel-crompton-83893_destroying_a-man-has-a-very-insecure-tenure-of-a-pr_2518683.jpg" --- # A man has a very insecure tenure of a property which… ![“A man has a very insecure tenure of a property which another can carry away with his eyes. A few months reduced me to the cruel necessity either of destroying my machine, or of giving it to the public. To destroy it, I could not think of; to give up that for which I had laboured so long, was…” quote by Samuel Crompton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bf/samuel-crompton-83893_destroying_a-man-has-a-very-insecure-tenure-of-a-pr_2518683.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bf/samuel-crompton-83893_destroying_a-man-has-a-very-insecure-tenure-of-a-pr_2518683.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bf/samuel-crompton-83893_destroying_a-man-has-a-very-insecure-tenure-of-a-pr_2518683.jpg) > “A man has a very insecure tenure of a property which another can carry away with his eyes. A few months reduced me to the cruel necessity either of destroying my machine, or of giving it to the public. To destroy it, I could not think of; to give up that for which I had laboured so long, was cruel. I had no patent, nor the means of purchasing one. In preference to destroying, I gave it to the public.” [Samuel Crompton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-crompton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When lacking legal protection, creators face a dilemma: destroy their work or share it publicly, sacrificing personal gain for communal benefit **In simple terms:** Without patents, inventors must choose between destroying or sharing their work Key Takeaway Share innovations openly when legal safeguards are absent Themes ethics innovation property rights Mood reflective pragmatic Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - industrial design - open source - collaborative research - community benefit Key Concepts intellectual property public good technological progress Questions to Reflect On - What incentives could replace patents to encourage invention? - How does public sharing affect future innovation? A Different Perspective Sharing may reduce personal incentive to innovate ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cruel Necessity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-necessity-1228476/) [Cruel Patent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-patent-1228472/) [Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) [Destroying Gave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying-gave-1228473/) [Destroying Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying-machine-1228475/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [His eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his-eyes/) [Insecure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insecure/) [Insecure Tenure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insecure-tenure-1228474/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Patents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patents/) [Preference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preference/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Purchasing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purchasing/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Tenure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenure/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“A man has a very insecure tenure of a property which another can carry away with his eyes. A few months reduced me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-crompton/a-man-has-a-very-insecure-tenure-of-a-property-which-another-can/) [Samuel Crompton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-crompton/) > [Great men are never cruel without necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/great-men-are-never-cruel-without-necessity/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Finding the real joy of # Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done, nor is it found in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/finding-the-real-joy-of-christmas-comes-not-in-the-hurrying-and-the/) [Thomas S. 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And billions are spent purchasing them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/happiness-in-a-tablet-this-is-our-world-prozac-daxil-xanax-billions/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [If ever there was an area in which to do the exact opposite of that which government and the media urge you to do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ringer/if-ever-there-was-an-area-in-which-to-do-the-exact-opposite-of-that/) [Robert Ringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ringer/) > [“There is M. Geborand purchasing paradise for a sou.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-m-geborand-purchasing-paradise-for-a-sou/) [Victor hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The price of every thing rises and falls from time to time and place to place; and with every such change the purchasing power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/the-price-of-every-thing-rises-and-falls-from-time-to-time-and-place/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [In providing this $5,000 tax credit for those purchasing rural homes, we're offering an important incentive to encourage people to live in smaller communities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-mchugh/in-providing-this-5-000-tax-credit-for-those-purchasing-rural-homes/) [John M. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-mchugh/) > [Viewed from a holistic ecological perspective, some meat - such as conscientiously hunted animals - involves less suffering and environmental damage than arable agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristram-stuart/viewed-from-a-holistic-ecological-perspective-some-meat-such-as/) [Tristram Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristram-stuart/) > [If God had wanted us to spend all our time fretting about the problems of home ownership, He would never have created beer. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-god-had-wanted-us-to-spend-all-our-time-fretting-about-the/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Using a service such as Chegg.com, students can save on average more than $600 a year when they rent textbooks over purchasing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osman-rashid/using-a-service-such-as-chegg-com-students-can-save-on-average-more/) [Osman Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osman-rashid/) > [We are all too keenly aware that those of you who supported us by purchasing the 3DS in the beginningmay feel betrayed and criticize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satoru-iwata/we-are-all-too-keenly-aware-that-those-of-you-who-supported-us-by/) [Satoru Iwata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satoru-iwata/) > [Purchasing items made in the U.S. for our stores here or Canadian goods for our stores in Canada makes good business sense because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/purchasing-items-made-in-the-u-s-for-our-stores-here-or-canadian/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) ## More by Samuel Crompton > [ \[The original development of the Spinning Mule was a\] continual endeavour to realise a more perfect principle of spinning; and though often baffled, I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-crompton/the-original-development-of-the-spinning-mule-was-a-continual/) [Samuel Crompton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-crompton/) > [“A man has a very insecure tenure of a property which another can carry away with his eyes. A few months reduced me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-crompton/a-man-has-a-very-insecure-tenure-of-a-property-which-another-can/) [Samuel Crompton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-crompton/) [Explore all 3 Samuel Crompton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-crompton/) ## More Destroying quotes > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-wall-street-and-credit-card-companies-are-doing-is-really-not/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/work-and-leisure-are-complementary-parts-of-the-same-living-process/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/you-cannot-help-the-poor-by-destroying-the-rich/) [William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/) > [Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/do-not-suppose-that-abuses-are-eliminated-by-destroying-the-object/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [The future is religion and commerce, aphrodisiac and Benzedrine, a mother of mysterious comfort and a mistress of familiar ravishments ever on the verge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-kennedy/the-future-is-religion-and-commerce-aphrodisiac-and-benzedrine-a/) [Eugene Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-kennedy/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Even if we are destroying this planet, we are playing our role perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-kest/even-if-we-are-destroying-this-planet-we-are-playing-our-role/) [Bryan Kest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-kest/) > [Love creates an "us" without destroying the "me".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/love-creates-an-us-without-destroying-the-me/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/people-of-the-philippines-i-have-returned-by-the-grace-of-almighty/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) [Browse all 983 Destroying quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man has a very insecure tenure of a property which another can carry away with his eyes. A few months reduced me to the cruel necessity either of destroying my machine, or of giving it to the public. To destroy it, I could not think of; to give up that for which I had laboured so long, was cruel. I had no patent, nor the means of purchasing one. 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