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Compassion
- Intellectual disgrace
Stares from every human face,
And the seas of pity lie
Locked and frozen in each eye.1907–73 English poet: ‘In Memory of W. B. Yeats’ (1940) pt. 3 - Hatred is a tonic, it makes one live, it inspires vengeance; but pity kills, it makes our weakness weaker.1799–1850 French novelist: La Peau de Chagrin (1831)
- Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door.1757–1827 English poet: Songs of Innocence (1789) ‘Holy Thursday’
- If you want others to be happy, practise compassion. If you want to be happy, practise compassion.1935– the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism: attributed
- O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand.1181–1226 Italian monk: ‘Prayer of St Francis’; attributed - Our sympathy is cold to the relation of distant misery.1737–94 English historian: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776–88) ch. 49
- Any victim demands allegiance.1904–91 English novelist: The Heart of the Matter (1948) bk. 3, pt. 1, ch. 1
- If a madman were to come into this room with a stick in his hand, no doubt we should pity the state of his mind; but our primary consideration would be to take care of ourselves. We should knock him down first, and pity him afterwards.1709–84 English poet, critic, and lexicographer: House of Commons, 3 April 1776
- We are all strong enough to bear the misfortunes of others.1613–80 French moralist: Maximes (1678) no. 19
- Be pitiful, for every man is fighting a hard battle.frequently quoted as ‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle’ and wrongly attributed to Plato(John Watson) 1850–1907 English Presbyterian minister and writer: in Zion's Herald January 1898; see
- The fact that I have no remedy for the sorrows of the world is no reason for my accepting yours. It simply supports the strong probability that yours is a fake.1880–1956 American journalist and literary critic: Notebooks (1956) ‘Minority Report’
- Only the hopeless are starkly sincere and…only the unhappy can either give or take sympathy.c.1890–1979 British novelist and short-story writer: The Left Bank (1927)
- The quality of mercy is not strained,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath.1564–1616 English dramatist: The Merchant of Venice (1596–8) act 4, sc. 1, l. [182] (Oxford Standard Authors ed.) - But yet the pity of it, Iago! O! Iago, the pity of it, Iago!1564–1616 English dramatist: Othello (1602–4) act 4, sc. 1, l. [205] (Oxford Standard Authors ed.)
- If you see anybody fallen by the wayside and lying in the ditch, it isn't much good climbing into the ditch and lying by his side.1880–1937 British clergyman: Carolyn Scott Dick Sheppard (1977)
- When times get rough,
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.1942– American singer and songwriter: ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’ (1970 song)