I agree. Few dictators, in my opinion, are cruel for the sake of being cruel. The harshness of their rule often comes from, as Saucepan Man, a desire to ensure that their own ideology will remain prominent and powerful.
I am not familiar with that quote. I take it that it was in its original form handwritten by JRR Tolkien (hence the "[illegible word]"). This is certainly an interesting topic. The quote provided seems far less explicit and more open to interpretation then Tolkien's essays and letters usually are.
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...where the instrument of intelligence is added to brute power and evil will, mankind is powerless in its own defence.
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