What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.
—Robert F. Kennedy (1925–68) American Politician, Civil Rights Activist
Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Compassion to an offender who has grossly violated the laws is, in effect, a cruelty to the peaceable subject who has observed them.
—Junius Unidentified English Writer
He gives twice who gives promptly.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
Compassion has no place in the natural order of the world which operates on the basis of necessity. Compassion opposes this order and is therefore best thought of as being in some way supernatural.
—John Berger (1926–2017) English Art Critic, Novelist
Human it is to have compassion on the unhappy.
—Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) Italian Writer, Poet
I know the compassion of others is a relief at first. I don’t despise it. But it can’t quench pain, it slips through your soul as through a sieve. And when our suffering has been dragged from one pity to another, as from one mouth to another, we can no longer respect or love it.
—Georges Bernanos (1888–1948) French Author
Compassion automatically brings happiness and calmness. Then, even if you receive disturbing news, it will be easier to take, as your mind is still.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
No-one knows what the soul is. But what we do know is, the soul is where God works compassion
—Meister Eckhart (c.1260–1327) German Christian Mystic
He who feels no compassion will become insane.
—Unknown
Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
Kindness effects more than severity.
—Aesop (620–564 BCE) Greek Fabulist
There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.
—Buddhist Teaching
Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.
—Buddhist Teaching
Out of compassion I destroy the darkness of their ignorance. From within them I light the lamp of wisdom and dispel all darkness from their lives.
—The Bhagavad Gita Hindu Scripture
So, in the infinitely nobler battle in which you are engaged against error and wrong, if ever repulsed or stricken down, may you always be solaced and cheered by the exulting cry of triumph over some abuse in Church or State, some vice or folly in society, some false opinion or cruelty or guilt which you have overcome! And I beseech you to treasure up in your hearts these my parting words: Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.
—Horace Mann (1796–1859) American Educator, Politician, Educationalist
Lincoln’s appeal to ‘the better angels of our nature’ failed to avert a fratricidal war. But the compassionate wisdom of Lincoln’s first and second inaugurals bequeathed to the Union, cemented with blood, a moral heritage which, when drawn upon in times of stress and strife, is sure to find specific ways and means to surmount difficulties that may appear to be insurmountable.
—Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965) American Judge
World economies are always so tenuous and we are subject to so many losses in life, but a compassionate attitude is something we can always carry with us.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
The sense that some one else cares always helps because it is the sense of love.
—George Edward Woodberry (1855–1930) American Literary Critic, Poet
A religious man is a person who holds God and man in one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose greatest strength is love and defiance of despair.
—Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–72) American Jewish Rabbi
Compassion, the fairest associate of the heart.
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809) American Nationalist, Author, Pamphleteer, Radical, Inventor
A kind word is like a Spring day.
—Russian Proverb
It is easy to be swept away by some overwhelming feeling, so it’s helpful to remember that any stressful feeling is like a compassionate alarm clock that says, “You’re caught in the dream”.
—Byron Katie (b.1942) American Speaker, Author
The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Compassion is the basis of all morality.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher
What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss-born French Philosopher
It is above all by the imagination that we achieve perception and compassion and hope.
—Ursula K. Le Guin (b.1929) American Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer
Compassion is not a popular virtue
—Karen Armstrong (b.1944) English Religious Historian
When you rise in the morning, form a resolution to make the day a happy one for a fellow creature.
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845) English Clergyman, Essayist, Wit
If you are motivated by loving kindness and compassion, there are many ways to bring happiness to others right now, starting with kind speech.
—Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022) Vietnamese Buddhist Religious Leader, Teacher, Author, Peace Activist
The media have just buried the last yuppie, a pathetic creature who had not heard the news that the great pendulum of public consciousness has just swung from Greed to Compassion and from Tex-Mex to meatballs
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b.1941) American Social Critic, Essayist
The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.
—Thomas Merton (1915–68) American Trappist Monk
The wretched have no compassion, they can do good only from strong principles of duty.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
If you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They come to you. When you are genuinely interested in one thing, it will always lead to something else.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
I believe we are still so innocent. The species are still so innocent that a person who is apt to be murdered believes that the murderer, just before he puts the final wrench on his throat, will have enough compassion to give him one sweet cup of water.
—Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American Poet
In seperateness lies the world’s great misery, in compassion lies the world’s true strength
—Buddhist Teaching
The individual is capable of both great compassion and great indifference. He has it within his means to nourish the former and outgrow the latter.
—Norman Cousins (1915–90) American Journalist, Author, Academic, Activist
The golden rule is of no use whatsoever unless you realize that it is your move.
—Frank Hall Crane (1873–1948) American Stage and Film Actor, Director
It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow man.
—Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) Italian Monk, Founder of the Franciscan Order
Each of us in our own way can try to spread compassion into people’s hearts. Western civilizations these days place great importance on filling the human “brain” with knowledge, but no one seems to care about filling the human “heart” with compassion. This is what the real role of religion is.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
The chemist who can extract from his heart’s elements, compassion, respect, longing, patience, regret, surprise, and forgiveness and compound them into one can create that atom which is called love.
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.
—Jackie Joyner-Kersee (b.1962) American Athlete
A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.
—Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French Writer, Moralist
True benevolence, or compassion, extends itself through the whole of existence and sympathizes with the distress of every creature capable of sensation.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
A woman should always challenge our respect, and never move our compassion.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher