"There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy, hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny"

Mercy, a virtue often championed as a cornerstone of human compassion, encounters its boundaries when confronted with actions that undermine collective well-being and trust. Frederick William Robertson asserts that the qualities of hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny are so corrosive to society that they should not be met with leniency or forgiveness. These are not mere personal failings but systemic threats that erode the foundations of ethical life and social order.

Hypocrisy is the act of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues one does not actually hold or practice. It breeds mistrust, breaks down authentic relationships, and impedes genuine moral progress. When individuals or institutions display hypocrisy, they invalidate the principles they claim to uphold, thereby encouraging cynicism and disillusionment among observers. Societies founded on trust falter when hypocrisy becomes widespread because people can no longer distinguish between authentic sincerity and manipulative posturing.

Fraud, the act of deliberate deception for personal gain, strikes at the heart of communal integrity. Lying, cheating, or otherwise deceiving others fractures the fabric of fairness and reciprocity that binds individuals together. When fraud goes unpunished or is met with understanding rather than justice, it signals to the community that dishonesty is an acceptably strategic behavior. Thus, leniency toward fraud undermines the wider system of trust necessary for any cooperative endeavor, from commerce to politics.

Tyranny, the unjust and oppressive exercise of power, is perhaps the most dangerous of the three. It suppresses freedom, stifles dissent, and enables the kind of systemic cruelty that leaves societies scarred for generations. Showing mercy to tyranny equates to enabling further abuse and suffering for entire populations. Firm opposition becomes a moral imperative in the face of tyrannical rule, not merely for the sake of the present, but for the safeguarding of liberty and justice for the future.

By drawing a hard line at these three evils, Robertson calls for moral vigilance, arguing that true compassion cannot accommodate those actions that undermine the moral and civic foundations of society.