All cruel people describe themselves as paragons of frankness.

The line targets a common moral alibi: people who wound others often reframe their behavior as “honesty,” claiming the virtue of plain speaking to excuse needless harshness. Williams suggests that “frankness” can be performative—less a commitment to truth than a self-portrait of courage and integrity that masks aggression or contempt. The word “paragons” sharpens the irony: the cruel do not merely admit to being blunt; they elevate it into a defining excellence. Read this way, the quote warns against confusing candor with character, and it invites scrutiny of motives—whether speech aims to clarify reality or to dominate, humiliate, or punish under the cover of sincerity.