The First stage of Cruelty shows Nero , when he is a child , hurting a dog . In the Second stage of cruelty , Nero , who is an adult , beats his horse . Beginning with the torture of a dog as a child in the First stage of cruelty , Nero progresses to beating his horse as a man in the Second stage of cruelty , and then to robbery , seduction , and murder in Cruelty in perfection .