--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human it is to have compassion on the…" description: "\"Human it is to have compassion on the unhappy.\" — Giovanni Boccaccio" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/giovanni-boccaccio-22583_compassion_human-it-is-to-have-compassion-on-the-un_1543944.jpg" --- # Human it is to have compassion on the unhappy. ![“Human it is to have compassion on the unhappy.” quote by Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/giovanni-boccaccio-22583_compassion_human-it-is-to-have-compassion-on-the-un_1543944.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/giovanni-boccaccio-22583_compassion_human-it-is-to-have-compassion-on-the-un_1543944.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/giovanni-boccaccio-22583_compassion_human-it-is-to-have-compassion-on-the-un_1543944.jpg) > “Human it is to have compassion on the unhappy.” [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compassion for the suffering is a natural human response. **In simple terms:** Compassion is human. Key Takeaway Practice empathy toward the distressed. Themes compassion humanity empathy Mood warm thoughtful Type ethical humanistic When to use this quote - counseling - social work - community support - volunteering Key Concepts ethical philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - When do you feel most compassionate? - How can you extend compassion beyond immediate circles? A Different Perspective Compassion can be limited by personal bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Compassion Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-unhappy-2769362/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-compassion/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) ## Related quotes > [Be happy for those who are happy, have compassion towards the unhappy, and maintain equanimity towards the wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/be-happy-for-those-who-are-happy-have-compassion-towards-the-unhappy/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [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/) > [“Our human compassion binds us the one to the other - not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gallegos-borresen/our-human-compassion-binds-us-the-one-to-the-other-not-in-pity-or/) [Michael Gallegos Borresen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gallegos-borresen/) > [There’s been a problem, a problem eating away at me from the inside out. I’ve become weak, I’ve shown human compassion, and it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane/there-s-been-a-problem-a-problem-eating-away-at-me-from-the-inside/) [Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane/) > [The indifference, callousness and contempt that so many people exhibit toward animals is evil first because it results in great suffering in animals, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-indifference-callousness-and-contempt-that-so-many-people-exhibit-2/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [It is not about sexuality that is important to most people who care, it is what we do for our community and our family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-stone/it-is-not-about-sexuality-that-is-important-to-most-people-who-care/) [Lisa Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-stone/) > [Clearly America is exceptional in its immorality, lack of human compassion, and disrespect for law and its founding document.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/clearly-america-is-exceptional-in-its-immorality-lack-of-human/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [With compassion, we see benevolently our own human condition and the condition of our fellow beings. We drop prejudice. We withhold judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baldwin/with-compassion-we-see-benevolently-our-own-human-condition-and-the/) [Christina Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baldwin/) > [Human compassion is equal to human cruelty, and it is up to each of us to tip the balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/human-compassion-is-equal-to-human-cruelty-and-it-is-up-to-each-of-us/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [My husband, Andrius, says that evil will rule until good men or women choose to act. I believe him. This testimony was written to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/my-husband-andrius-says-that-evil-will-rule-until-good-men-or-women/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [Hey!" I exclaimed, seeing the total. "They're charging me retail. Glenn!" I complained. "They can't do that." I shook it at him. "I shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/hey-i-exclaimed-seeing-the-total-they-re-charging-me-retail-glenn-i/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [“Although my mother didn't know anything about science, she had a great influence on me as well. In particular, she had a wonderful sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-feynman/although-my-mother-didn-t-know-anything-about-science-she-had-a-great/) [Richard Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-feynman/) > [“This much is sure: as the humanemeconomy asserts its own power, it's own logic, and it's essential decency, an an older order is passing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/this-much-is-sure-as-the-humanemeconomy-asserts-its-own-power-it-s/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [The highest forms of understanding we can achieve are laughter and human compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/the-highest-forms-of-understanding-we-can-achieve-are-laughter-and/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [“Do you know what I believe, Miss Whittaker? Regarding your question on the origins of human compassion and self-sacrifice? I believe that evolution explains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/do-you-know-what-i-believe-miss-whittaker-regarding-your-question-on/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## More by Giovanni Boccaccio > [Nothing is so indecent that it cannot be said to another person if the proper words are used to convey it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/nothing-is-so-indecent-that-it-cannot-be-said-to-another-person-if/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [While farmers generally allow one rooster for ten hens, ten men are scarcely sufficient to service one woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/while-farmers-generally-allow-one-rooster-for-ten-hens-ten-men-are/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [Much is required of those who are happy, especially if they have needed comforting in the past, and have received it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/much-is-required-of-those-who-are-happy-especially-if-they-have/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [Kissed mouth don’t lose its fortune, on the contrary it renews itself just as the moon does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/kissed-mouth-don-t-lose-its-fortune-on-the-contrary-it-renews-itself/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [“Tu non potrai fuggir le mie saette se l´arco tiro, o sciocca peccatrice! –”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/tu-non-potrai-fuggir-le-mie-saette-se-l-arco-tiro-o-sciocca-peccatrice/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [To have compassion for those who suffer is a human quality which everyone should possess, especially those who have required comfort themselves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/to-have-compassion-for-those-who-suffer-is-a-human-quality-which/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [In the affairs of this world, poverty alone is without envy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/in-the-affairs-of-this-world-poverty-alone-is-without-envy/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [My mind is wholly possessed by Love, who rules every part there of, in virtue of his all-embracing deity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/my-mind-is-wholly-possessed-by-love-who-rules-every-part-there-of-in/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [It's better to repent what you enjoyed than to repent not having enjoyed anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/it-s-better-to-repent-what-you-enjoyed-than-to-repent-not-having/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [“Let this grisly beginning be none other to you than is to wayfarers a rugged and steep mountain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/let-this-grisly-beginning-be-none-other-to-you-than-is-to-wayfarers-a/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [People tend to believe the bad rather than the good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/people-tend-to-believe-the-bad-rather-than-the-good/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [Heaven would indeed be heaven if lovers were there permitted as much enjoyment as they had experienced on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/heaven-would-indeed-be-heaven-if-lovers-were-there-permitted-as-much/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [You must read, you must persevere, you must sit up nights, you must inquire, and exert the utmost power of your mind. If one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/you-must-read-you-must-persevere-you-must-sit-up-nights-you-must/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [In this world, you only get what you grab for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/in-this-world-you-only-get-what-you-grab-for/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [Although love dwells in gorgeous palaces, and sumptuous apartments, more willingly than in miserable and desolate cottages, it cannot be denied but that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/although-love-dwells-in-gorgeous-palaces-and-sumptuous-apartments/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) [Explore all 21 Giovanni Boccaccio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) ## 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": "Human it is to have compassion on the unhappy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Giovanni Boccaccio" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/human-it-is-to-have-compassion-on-the-unhappy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/human-it-is-to-have-compassion-on-the-unhappy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/giovanni-boccaccio-22583_compassion_human-it-is-to-have-compassion-on-the-un_1543944.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/giovanni-boccaccio-22583_compassion_human-it-is-to-have-compassion-on-the-un_1543944.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a4/giovanni-boccaccio-22583_compassion_human-it-is-to-have-compassion-on-the-un_1543944.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human it is to have compassion on the unhappy.” — Giovanni Boccaccio", "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": "Giovanni Boccaccio", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Human it is to have compassion...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/human-it-is-to-have-compassion-on-the-unhappy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/human-it-is-to-have-compassion-on-the-unhappy/#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 } } ] } ```