proverb · Words worth keeping
Cruelty is a devil's delight.
Cruelty is a devil's delight.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Cruelty is condemned by imagining it as something the devil enjoys. The image expresses moral disapproval of causing suffering, without providing evidence about supernatural beings or deciding the facts of a particular dispute.
Example
A group stops turning a member’s mistake into a running joke and discusses the problem directly without inviting others to join in the ridicule.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Devil’s delight gives cruelty a deliberately troubling companion. The proverb uses that image to reject taking pleasure in another’s suffering or treating harshness as an achievement. A useful reading focuses on the conduct and those affected rather than turning the metaphor into a label for a person. Disagreement, accountability or a necessary limit is not automatically cruelty; the circumstances and effects still need examination. The saying expresses a moral judgement, not a factual account of supernatural activity. It can encourage a more considerate response while leaving room to establish what happened and what practical correction is needed.
When to use it
Use it to challenge enjoyment of another person’s humiliation or suffering.
Keep in mind
Establish actual conduct and effects; the metaphor does not justify demonising a person.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English