--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's compassion that makes gods of us." description: "\"It's compassion that makes gods of us.\" — Dorothy Gilman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/dorothy-gilman-19428_compassion_it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us-18_185484.jpg" --- # It's compassion that makes gods of us. ![“It's compassion that makes gods of us.” quote by Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/dorothy-gilman-19428_compassion_it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us-18_185484.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/dorothy-gilman-19428_compassion_it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us-18_185484.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/dorothy-gilman-19428_compassion_it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us-18_185484.jpg) > “It's compassion that makes gods of us.” [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compassion elevates humanity, granting a divine quality to those who practice it. **In simple terms:** Kindness makes us feel god‑like. Key Takeaway Cultivate compassion daily. Themes compassion humanity spirituality ethics growth Mood hopeful thoughtful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - volunteering - conflict resolution - personal growth Key Concepts empathy moral development inner divinity Questions to Reflect On - How does compassion translate into action? - Can compassion be misused? A Different Perspective Compassion alone may not solve systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Compassion Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-makes-815570/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes/) [Makes Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-gods-696607/) ## Related quotes > [Developing our capacity for compassion makes it possible for us to help others in a more skillful and effective way. And compassion helps us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/developing-our-capacity-for-compassion-makes-it-possible-for-us-to/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [It is not he who forms idols in gold or marble that makes them gods, but he who kneels before them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/it-is-not-he-who-forms-idols-in-gold-or-marble-that-makes-them-gods/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [Power makes gods. Virtue makes martyrs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/power-makes-gods-virtue-makes-martyrs/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [War is the father of us all, King of all. Some it makes gods, some it makes men, some it makes slaves, some free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus-of-ephesus/war-is-the-father-of-us-all-king-of-all-some-it-makes-gods-some-it/) [Heraclitus Of Ephesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus-of-ephesus/) > [Men always makes gods in their own image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xenophanes/men-always-makes-gods-in-their-own-image/) [Xenophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xenophanes/) > [Man is certainly crazy. He could not make a mite, and he makes gods by the dozen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/man-is-certainly-crazy-he-could-not-make-a-mite-and-he-makes-gods-by/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [L'homme est bien insensé. Il ne saurait forger un ciron, et forge des Dieux à douzaines. Man is certainly crazy. He could not make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/l-homme-est-bien-insens-il-ne-saurait-forger-un-ciron-et-forge-des/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“Great compassion makes a peaceful heart. A peaceful heart makes a peaceful person. A peaceful person makes a peaceful family. A peaceful family makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maha-ghosananda/great-compassion-makes-a-peaceful-heart-a-peaceful-heart-makes-a/) [Maha Ghosananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maha-ghosananda/) > [Compassion makes no distinction between friends and enemies, neighbors and outsiders, compatriots and foreigners. Compassion is the gate to human community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/compassion-makes-no-distinction-between-friends-and-enemies-neighbors/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Developing our capacity for compassion makes it possible for us to help others in a more skillful and effective way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/developing-our-capacity-for-compassion-makes-it-possible-for-us-to-2/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [O men! you can take life easily but, remember, none of you can give life! So, have mercy, have compassion! And, never forget, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/o-men-you-can-take-life-easily-but-remember-none-of-you-can-give-life/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“Compassion makes you strong, caring and creative. It creates a different attitude, a level of maturity and understanding, where you do something which makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/compassion-makes-you-strong-caring-and-creative-it-creates-a/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [“genuine compassion makes people feel good, but it doesn’t tolerate total despair or hopelessness, let alone complicity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-valeur/genuine-compassion-makes-people-feel-good-but-it-doesn-t-tolerate/) [Erik Valeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-valeur/) > [We are more than our bodies, it is true; but we cannot be divorced from them. They are us, and the only way in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-george/we-are-more-than-our-bodies-it-is-true-but-we-cannot-be-divorced-from/) [Margaret George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-george/) > [What Gods do you believe in? I'll build you a temple of mirrors so you can see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-gibson/what-gods-do-you-believe-in-i-ll-build-you-a-temple-of-mirrors-so-you/) [Andrea Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-gibson/) ## More by Dorothy Gilman > [“I wasn't offering her pity," Mrs. Caswell said impatiently. "Tragedies don't interest me, tragedies and heartbreaks are all alike, what matters is how a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/i-wasn-t-offering-her-pity-mrs-caswell-said-impatiently-tragedies-don/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [The best things arrive on time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/the-best-things-arrive-on-time/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [People need dreams, there's as much nourishment in 'em as food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/people-need-dreams-there-s-as-much-nourishment-in-em-as-food/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“Do you like Magda too?” His gaze left the gate to sweep the courtyard. “She seems pleasant enough when she’s not drugged. But then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/do-you-like-magda-too-his-gaze-left-the-gate-to-sweep-the-courtyard/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“If life was like a body of water, she had asked that she be allowed to walk again in its shallows; instead she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/if-life-was-like-a-body-of-water-she-had-asked-that-she-be-allowed-to/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [will anything but fanaticism make for change? Wisdom and compromise come later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/will-anything-but-fanaticism-make-for-change-wisdom-and-compromise/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“the problems changed, but people were the same”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/the-problems-changed-but-people-were-the-same/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“...why doesn't anything end happily?" "Because," said Mrs. Pollifax slowly, "there are no happy endings, Jenny, there are only happy people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/why-doesn-t-anything-end-happily-because-said-mrs-pollifax-slowly/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [It's when we're given choice that we sit with the gods and design ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/it-s-when-we-re-given-choice-that-we-sit-with-the-gods-and-design/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [ “Once upon a time, \[the guru\] said, when God had finished making the world, he wanted to leave behind Him for man a piece… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/once-upon-a-time-the-guru-said-when-god-had-finished-making-the-world/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“evil is, after all, only a deficiency of goodness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/evil-is-after-all-only-a-deficiency-of-goodness/) [dorothy gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [... people misunderstood death, they died not of too little life but of too much life, that as the skin withered and the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/people-misunderstood-death-they-died-not-of-too-little-life-but-of/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [A man from hell is not afraid of hot ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/a-man-from-hell-is-not-afraid-of-hot-ashes/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [People need dreams, there's as much nourishment in them as food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/people-need-dreams-there-s-as-much-nourishment-in-them-as-food/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [When we live with a memory we live with a corpse; the impact of the experience has changed us once but can never change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/when-we-live-with-a-memory-we-live-with-a-corpse-the-impact-of-the/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) [Explore all 32 Dorothy Gilman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) ## 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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's compassion that makes gods of us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dorothy Gilman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/dorothy-gilman-19428_compassion_it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us-18_185484.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/dorothy-gilman-19428_compassion_it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us-18_185484.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/dorothy-gilman-19428_compassion_it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us-18_185484.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's compassion that makes gods of us.” — Dorothy Gilman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dorothy Gilman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's compassion that makes gods of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```