Cruelty is perverted love; this is why extreme sadism is always
perverted sexuality. The cruel person cannot give because giving
is a love action.

There is no instinct for cruelty. Animals are not cruel. A cat
does not play with a mouse because it is cruel. It is just a game,
and there is no consciousness of any cruelty.

In humans, cruelty is due to motives that, for the most part,
are unconscious. In my long experience with children at Sum-
merhill, I have rarely had a child who wanted to torture ani-
mals. There was one exception some years ago. John, thirteen,
was given a puppy as a birthday present. "He loves animals," his
mother had written. As John took little Spot around with him,
it soon became clear that he was mistreating the dog. I con-
cluded that he was identifying Spot with his younger brother
Jim, his mother's favorite.

One day I saw him beating Spot. I went up to the little dog,
stroked it, and: said, "Hello, Jim." Apparently, I made John
conscious that he had been venting his hatred of his rival
brother on the poor dog. Thereafter, he ceased being cruel to
Spot; but I only touched his symptom; I didn't cure his sadism.

Free, happy children are not likely to be cruel. The cruelty of
many children springs from the cruelty that has been practiced
on them by adults. You cannot be beaten without wishing to
beat someone else. Like the teacher, you select someone who is
physically weaker than you. Boys at strict schools are more cruel
to each other than are the children at Summerhill.

Cruelty invariably is rationalized: it hurts me more than it
does you. Few, if any, sadists, say frankly, "I beat people up be-

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