---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cruelty is a tyrant that's always…"
description: "\"Cruelty is a tyrant that's always attended with fear.\" — Thomas Fuller"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/thomas-fuller-1956_cruelty_cruelty-is-a-tyrant-that-s-always-attend_1796230.png"
---

#  Cruelty is a tyrant that's always attended with fear.

![“Cruelty is a tyrant that's always attended with fear.” quote by Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/thomas-fuller-1956_cruelty_cruelty-is-a-tyrant-that-s-always-attend_1796230.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/thomas-fuller-1956_cruelty_cruelty-is-a-tyrant-that-s-always-attend_1796230.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/thomas-fuller-1956_cruelty_cruelty-is-a-tyrant-that-s-always-attend_1796230.png)

> “Cruelty is a tyrant that's always attended with fear.”

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

## About This Quote

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

A tyrant's cruelty is sustained by the fear he creates in others.

**In simple terms:** Tyrants rely on fear.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and resist fear‑based control.

Themes

power fear tyranny control psychology

Mood

cautious critical reflective

Type

political philosophical

When to use this quote

- political leadership
- workplace management
- personal relationships
- social activism

Key Concepts

authoritarianism social dynamics psychological manipulation

Questions to Reflect On

- How does fear enable oppression?
- What can break the fear‑tyrant cycle?

A Different Perspective

Fear can be challenged by collective courage and transparency.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Cruelty Tyrant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty-tyrant-1991000/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Tyrant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrant/) [Tyrant Attended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrant-attended-1991001/)

## Related quotes

> [The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-tyrant-has-fallen-and-iraq-is-free/)

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

> [“You don’t get to be a favorite at a tyrant’s court without beheading your principles every day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/you-don-t-get-to-be-a-favorite-at-a-tyrant-s-court-without-beheading/)

[Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/)

> [“The tyrant is asleep to beauty and awake to ugliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-emmet/the-tyrant-is-asleep-to-beauty-and-awake-to-ugliness/)

[Joshua Emmet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-emmet/)

> [If you're not perfectly conscious of yourself, that self can be tyrannical; in relationship to others, anyone can become a tyrant. That's why no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/if-you-re-not-perfectly-conscious-of-yourself-that-self-can-be/)

[Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/)

> [A tyrant does not remain in the world; But the curse on him abides forever!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/a-tyrant-does-not-remain-in-the-world-but-the-curse-on-him-abides/)

[Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/)

> [“Death is a great tyrant; none can overthrow him. Life is a priceless ruby; none can afford it. Eternity is a noble mistress; none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/death-is-a-great-tyrant-none-can-overthrow-him-life-is-a-priceless/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [“Because if you don't know how to manage time, time can rule you like a tyrant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-partnoy/because-if-you-don-t-know-how-to-manage-time-time-can-rule-you-like-a/)

[Frank Partnoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-partnoy/)

> [ \[It is a basic principle of a tyrant\] to unarm his people of weapons, money and all means whereby they resist his power. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/it-is-a-basic-principle-of-a-tyrant-to-unarm-his-people-of-weapons/)

[Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/)

> [Every apathetic individual is a brick in a tyrant's throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/every-apathetic-individual-is-a-brick-in-a-tyrant-s-throne/)

[Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/)

> [Love reigns a very tyrant in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-otway/love-reigns-a-very-tyrant-in-my-heart/)

[Thomas Otway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-otway/)

> [I will never, for the future, paint the portrait of a tyrant until his head lies before me on the scaffold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/i-will-never-for-the-future-paint-the-portrait-of-a-tyrant-until-his/)

[Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/)

> [The only tyrant I accept in this world is the 'still small voice' within](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-only-tyrant-i-accept-in-this-world-is-the-still-small-voice-within/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“The smart tyrant flatters the people with words,while with deeds he destroys them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoli-rybakov/the-smart-tyrant-flatters-the-people-with-words-while-with-deeds-he/)

[Anatoli Rybakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoli-rybakov/)

> [Faith is not about serving some tyrant in the sky that says, 'You need to get your act together.' Faith is about having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/faith-is-not-about-serving-some-tyrant-in-the-sky-that-says-you-need/)

[Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/)

> [“If you cannot tell me another way, do not brand me a tyrant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gaider/if-you-cannot-tell-me-another-way-do-not-brand-me-a-tyrant/)

[David Gaider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gaider/)

## More by Thomas Fuller

> [Poor men's reasons are not heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/poor-men-s-reasons-are-not-heard/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [There is a scarcity of friendship, but not of friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/there-is-a-scarcity-of-friendship-but-not-of-friends/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [Govern thy life and thy thoughts as if the whole world were to see the one, and read the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/govern-thy-life-and-thy-thoughts-as-if-the-whole-world-were-to-see/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [He who cures a disease may be the skillfullest, but he that prevents it is the safest physician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/he-who-cures-a-disease-may-be-the-skillfullest-but-he-that-prevents/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [Old foxes want no tutors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/old-foxes-want-no-tutors/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [Slight small injuries, and they will become none at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/slight-small-injuries-and-they-will-become-none-at-all/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [He who gives his heart will not deny his money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/he-who-gives-his-heart-will-not-deny-his-money/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [Though bachelors be the strongest stakes, married men are the best binders, in the hedge of the commonwealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/though-bachelors-be-the-strongest-stakes-married-men-are-the-best/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [Plain dealing is a jewel, but they that wear it are out of fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/plain-dealing-is-a-jewel-but-they-that-wear-it-are-out-of-fashion/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [We are born crying, live complaining, and die disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/we-are-born-crying-live-complaining-and-die-disappointed/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [He that falls into sin is a man; that grieves at it, is a saint; that boasteth of it, is a devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/he-that-falls-into-sin-is-a-man-that-grieves-at-it-is-a-saint-that/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [Vows made in storms are forgotten in calm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/vows-made-in-storms-are-forgotten-in-calm/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [Welcome death, quoth the rat, when the trap fell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/welcome-death-quoth-the-rat-when-the-trap-fell/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [A lie has no leg, but a scandal has wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/a-lie-has-no-leg-but-a-scandal-has-wings/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [Great hopes make great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/great-hopes-make-great-men/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

[Explore all 195 Thomas Fuller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

## 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. She would like to restrain from cruelty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/when-you-re-a-monster-she-thought-you-are-thanked-and-praised-for-not/)

[Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/)

> [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [Music comes from the heart and returns to the heart... music is spontaneous, impulsive expression... its range is without limit... music is forever growing...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-stokowski/music-comes-from-the-heart-and-returns-to-the-heart-music-is/)

[Leopold Stokowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-stokowski/)

> [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. 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 is a tyrant that's always attended with fear.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Fuller"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/cruelty-is-a-tyrant-that-s-always-attended-with-fear/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cruelty"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/cruelty-is-a-tyrant-that-s-always-attended-with-fear/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/thomas-fuller-1956_cruelty_cruelty-is-a-tyrant-that-s-always-attend_1796230.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/thomas-fuller-1956_cruelty_cruelty-is-a-tyrant-that-s-always-attend_1796230.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/thomas-fuller-1956_cruelty_cruelty-is-a-tyrant-that-s-always-attend_1796230.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Cruelty is a tyrant that's always attended with fear.” — Thomas Fuller",
                "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": "Thomas Fuller",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Cruelty is a tyrant that's always...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/cruelty-is-a-tyrant-that-s-always-attended-with-fear/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/cruelty-is-a-tyrant-that-s-always-attended-with-fear/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
