5. Cruelty

"Just in case there are those who refuse to be caught forever by ugliness and seek some alternative, the evil of cruelty makes its claims. Cruelty is something we recognize so easily as a physical activity, yet find so hard to idenify in its finer but no less dangerous forms. It is essentially an intentional misuse of power by a stronger entity toward a weaker one on the same plane of action. For instance, a helpless cripple could scarcely be physically cruel to a strong and healthy person, yet could very well be diabolically cruel mentally to the same person if he were intellectually vulnerable. Cruelty is only possible as a calculated discharge of destructive energy directed at feebler creatures unlikely to retaliate effectively. Thus cruelty automatically implies cowardice as well. "

"The motivation of cruelty is commonly again the artificial ego-enlargement resultant from its practice. It makes the little boy feel bigger when he kicks his baby brother. If we can make others frightened of us we seem larger by comparison to their shrinking. That is the secret of cruelty. A false sense of boost because of aggressive action which appears to avoid injurious reprisals. To hurt and kill some helpless and defenseless creature makes cruel people feel enormously powerful by contrast. They may even delude themselves for an instant that they are acting like gods. Taking their pathetic little share of life-energy, they are willing to expend this on damaging the lives of weaker beings for the sake of supposing themselves more powerful than they truly are. None cry louder than such cowardly criminals when justified retribution rebounds on them. Nobody hates being hurt more than those who hurt with hate. "

"... It should not be forgotten we can be most cruel of all to ourselves. The "Sado-masochist" syndrome is a very sad one. Those who torture one level of themselves at the instigation of another can get caught up into some of the most vicious circles humans can create. Our history books are crammed with instances of horror due to this fiendish propensity. So much of it may be disguised as pseudo-sanctity or religious righteousness. We do enjoy hiding our nastiest natures behind the holiest seeming hypocrisy, making others suffer for what we inflict on our own egos. "* I was going to add that isn't it a quality of "cruelty" that often times it affects the users. People that are "too hard" on themselves, or that people are most often cruel to themselves.

"To some extent cruelty is a self limiting characteristic of evil because in the end people either sicken of it or get so heavily hammered by well-deserved retribution that they quiet down out of sheer fright. Though the propensity for cruelty may remain dormant, it is not likely to leave humans entirely until they learn how to feel much greater still by means of disciplined self-authority applied with justice...."
________________________________________________
TREE OF LIFE.......................................................TREE OF EVIL
Severity (discipline)..............................................Cruelty ________________________________________________

Be strictly just..........................1.....................Just be strict.

Hate to hurt..............................2.....................Hurt and hate.

Conquer the will to kill..................3.............Will to kill or conquer.

Feel for the ill-treatment of.............4...........Ill-treat the feelings of
others.............................................................others.

Revenge is wrong..........................5..................Revenge all wrongs.

Be severe only in ........................6...............It is necessary to be
necessity.......................................................severe.

Respect whose will not....................7..............Punish whose will not
punish you....................................................Respect you.

Be fearful of ever being..................8.............Be brutal,and feared for
brutal..............................................................Ever.

Force ferocity to be......................9.................Subdue by ferocious
subdued............................................................Force.

Discipline yourself to...................10..............Make others accept your
make other accept you.........................................discipline.
_________________________________________________________
Taken from the "Tree of Evil" , William G.Gray, published by Samuel Weiser. 1974.
pages 106,107 and 45.
_________________________________________________________