--- 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 de..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/samuel-crompton-83893_cruelty_a-man-has-a-very-insecure-tenure-of-a-pr_1820186.png" --- # 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/ec5/samuel-crompton-83893_cruelty_a-man-has-a-very-insecure-tenure-of-a-pr_1820186.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/samuel-crompton-83893_cruelty_a-man-has-a-very-insecure-tenure-of-a-pr_1820186.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/samuel-crompton-83893_cruelty_a-man-has-a-very-insecure-tenure-of-a-pr_1820186.png) > ““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. \[On his inability to keep for himself a profitable income from his invention of the Spinning Mule.\]”” [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. An inventor, lacking legal protection, chose to share his creation rather than destroy it, highlighting the tension between personal loss and public benefit. **In simple terms:** He gave his invention to everyone because he couldn’t patent it. Key Takeaway Share valuable work when you can’t protect it. Themes innovation public good intellectual property sacrifice Mood reflective determined Type historical inspirational When to use this quote - industrial revolution - entrepreneurship - technology sharing - financial hardship Key Concepts patent law commons creative destruction Questions to Reflect On - What would you do with a breakthrough you can’t protect? - How does sharing benefit society? A Different Perspective If he had secured a patent, he might have profited instead of giving it away. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cruel Patent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-patent-1228472/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Destroying Gave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying-gave-1228473/) [Destroying Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying-machine-1228475/) [Gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Insecure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insecure/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Invention Spinning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention-spinning-2187277/) [Inventor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventor/) [Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machine/) [Necessity Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessity-destroying-2187278/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Selflessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selflessness/) ## Related quotes > [A man has a very insecure tenure of a property which another can carry away with his eyes. 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And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## 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. 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