Compassion is nothing one feels with the intellect alone…

“Compassion is nothing one feels with the intellect alone. Compassion is particular; it is never general.”

Madeleine L'Engle

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Compassion requires emotional involvement, not just intellectual understanding; it is specific, not universal.

In simple terms: Feel empathy, not just think it.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate personal empathy.

Themes

empathy emotion humanity

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

counseling
volunteering
conflict resolution

Key Concepts

Phenomenology ethical theory

Questions to Reflect On

How do you practice specific compassion?
When have you felt detached?

A Different Perspective

Intellectual empathy also matters.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

Compassion Intellect Intelligence

More by Madeleine L'Engle

“One of the hardest lessons I have to learn is how not to be judgmental about people who are judgmental. When I see how…

Madeleine L'Engle

Inspiration more often comes during the work than before it, because the largest part of the job of an artist is to listen to…

Madeleine L'Engle

You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write…

Madeleine L'Engle

Severe illness isolates those in close contact with it, because it inevitably narrows the focus of concern. To a certain extent this can lead…

Madeleine L'Engle

Goodness has never been a guarantee of safety.

Madeleine L'Engle

“Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.”

Madeleine L'Engle

“Instead of rejoicing in this glorious “impossible” which gives meaning and dignity to our lives, we try to domesticate God, to make his mighty…

Madeleine L'Engle

I have never lived before...Until this summer, I did not know what it was to be alive.

Madeleine L'Engle

On the other side of pain, there is still love.

Madeleine L'Engle

“To love is to be vulnerable; and it is only in vulnerability and risk—not safety and security—that we overcome darkness.”

Madeleine L'Engle

“IT was the most horrible, the most repellent thing she had ever seen, far more nauseating then anything she had ever imagined with her…

Madeleine L'Engle

I feel as though I'm not breathing when I'm out of his presence. He's the oxygen in my air, the sun in my universe,…

Madeleine L'Engle

Rather than feeling lost and unimportant and meaningless, set against galaxies which go beyond the reach of the furthest telescopes, I feel that my…

Madeleine L'Engle

My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. It's all been said…

Madeleine L'Engle

If we aren't capable of being hurt we aren't capable of feeling joy.

Madeleine L'Engle

Explore all 660 Madeleine L'Engle quotes

More Compassion quotes

Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…

Joseph Addison

“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”

Debasish Mridha

I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…

Max Lucado

“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”

Segun Magbagbeola

For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…

Geneen Roth

I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.

Abraham Lincoln

We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…

R. C. Sproul

“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”

Abhijit Naskar

There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…

Dalai Lama

May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…

Sherrilyn Kenyon

When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…

Dean Koontz