--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Compassion is an emotion of which we…" description: "\"Compassion is an emotion of which we ought never to be ashamed. Graceful, particularly in youth, is the tear of sympathy, and the heart that melts at t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/hugh-blair-27714_affection_compassion-is-an-emotion-of-which-we-oug_594544.png" --- # Compassion is an emotion of which we ought never to be… ![“Compassion is an emotion of which we ought never to be ashamed. Graceful, particularly in youth, is the tear of sympathy, and the heart that melts at the tale of woe. We should not permit ease and indulgence to contract our affections, and wrap us up in a selfish enjoyment; but we should accustom…” quote by Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/hugh-blair-27714_affection_compassion-is-an-emotion-of-which-we-oug_594544.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/hugh-blair-27714_affection_compassion-is-an-emotion-of-which-we-oug_594544.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/hugh-blair-27714_affection_compassion-is-an-emotion-of-which-we-oug_594544.png) > “Compassion is an emotion of which we ought never to be ashamed. Graceful, particularly in youth, is the tear of sympathy, and the heart that melts at the tale of woe. We should not permit ease and indulgence to contract our affections, and wrap us up in a selfish enjoyment; but we should accustom ourselves to think of the distresses of human, life, of the solitary cottage; the dying parent, and the weeping orphan. Nor ought we ever to sport with pain and distress in any of our amusements, or treat even the meanest insect with wanton cruelty.” [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compassion should be a constant, unselfish concern for others' suffering, not dulled by comfort or selfish pleasure. **In simple terms:** Feel empathy, avoid selfishness. Key Takeaway Cultivate genuine empathy. Themes compassion empathy humility Mood thoughtful empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - charity work - family care - community service Key Concepts moral philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - What suffering do you ignore? - How can you practice empathy daily? A Different Perspective Compassion may be limited by personal bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Amusement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amusement/) [Ashamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Compassion Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-emotion-4709084/) [Contracts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contracts/) [Cottages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cottages/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Distress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distress/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Ease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotion Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-ought-3644822/) [Enjoyment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyment/) [Graceful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graceful/) [Graceful Particularly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graceful-particularly-4859775/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Indulgence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indulgence/) [Insects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insects/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Orphan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orphan/) [Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Permit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permit/) [Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Sympathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy/) [Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Treats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treats/) [Wanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanton/) [Weeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weeping/) [Woe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woe/) [Wraps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wraps/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“Strangely, I thought of the emotion I ought to feel without feeling it, as impartial as a National Geographic field researcher, carefully watching the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/strangely-i-thought-of-the-emotion-i-ought-to-feel-without-feeling-it/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [The fruit does not come from the outside, the fruit is created within you. Whatever you do, you develop receptivity for it inside yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-fruit-does-not-come-from-the-outside-the-fruit-is-created-within/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Be compassionate . Compassion is the emotion that one feels in response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/be-compassionate-compassion-is-the-emotion-that-one-feels-in-response/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [We ought never to sport with pain and distress in any of our amusements, or treat even the meanest insect with wanton cruelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/we-ought-never-to-sport-with-pain-and-distress-in-any-of-our/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [ It took the love of a good man \[to heal\]. When I was reverting back into my, let's say, perversions, he would say: 'Let's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/it-took-the-love-of-a-good-man-to-heal-when-i-was-reverting-back-into/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Youth must be wanton, youth must be quick, Dance to the candle while lasteth the wick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/youth-must-be-wanton-youth-must-be-quick-dance-to-the-candle-while/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Take heed thou trust not the deceitful lap Of wanton Dalilah; the world's a trap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/take-heed-thou-trust-not-the-deceitful-lap-of-wanton-dalilah-the/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [My prophecy is but half his journey yet, For yonder walls, that pertly front your town, Yon towers, whose wanton tops do buss the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-prophecy-is-but-half-his-journey-yet-for-yonder-walls-that-pertly/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [They call me "a teacher, a fomenter of violence." I would say point blank, "That is a lie. I'm not for wanton violence, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/they-call-me-a-teacher-a-fomenter-of-violence-i-would-say-point-blank/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [War means blind obedience, unthinking stupidity, brutish callousness, wanton destruction, and irresponsible murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/war-means-blind-obedience-unthinking-stupidity-brutish-callousness/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [Capricious, wanton, bold, and brutal Lust Is meanly selfish; when resisted, cruel; And, like the blast of Pestilential Winds, Taints the sweet bloom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/capricious-wanton-bold-and-brutal-lust-is-meanly-selfish-when/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [As love is full of unbefitting strains, All wanton as a child, skipping and vain, Form'd by the eye and therefore, like the eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/as-love-is-full-of-unbefitting-strains-all-wanton-as-a-child-skipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The wondrous thing about nature, her gift to us, is her wanton promiscuity. She reproduces herself with abandon, with teeming infinite generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/the-wondrous-thing-about-nature-her-gift-to-us-is-her-wanton/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [Discipline means protection from one's own wanton interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/discipline-means-protection-from-one-s-own-wanton-interest/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [The tongue of slander is too prompt with wanton malice to wound the stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-tongue-of-slander-is-too-prompt-with-wanton-malice-to-wound-the/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) ## More by Hugh Blair > [We ought never to sport with pain and distress in any of our amusements, or treat even the meanest insect with wanton cruelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/we-ought-never-to-sport-with-pain-and-distress-in-any-of-our/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [What ever purifies the heart also fortifies it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/what-ever-purifies-the-heart-also-fortifies-it/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [Only mediocrity of enjoyment is allowed to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/only-mediocrity-of-enjoyment-is-allowed-to-man/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [To exult over the miseries of an unhappy creature is inhuman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/to-exult-over-the-miseries-of-an-unhappy-creature-is-inhuman/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [As the primary end of History is to record truth, impartiality, fidelity and accuracy are the fundamental qualities of an Historian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/as-the-primary-end-of-history-is-to-record-truth-impartiality/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [It is pride which fills the world with so much harshness and severity. We are rigorous to offenses as if we had never offended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/it-is-pride-which-fills-the-world-with-so-much-harshness-and-severity/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [Exercise is the chief source of improvement in our faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/exercise-is-the-chief-source-of-improvement-in-our-faculties/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [Nothing leads more directly to the breach of charity, and to the injury and molestation of our fellow-creatures, than the indulgence of an ill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/nothing-leads-more-directly-to-the-breach-of-charity-and-to-the/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [Nothing, except what flows from the heart, can render even external manners truly pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/nothing-except-what-flows-from-the-heart-can-render-even-external/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [In the eye of that Supreme Being to whom our whole internal frame is uncovered, dispositions hold the place of actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/in-the-eye-of-that-supreme-being-to-whom-our-whole-internal-frame-is/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [Worry not about the possible troubles of the future; for if they come, you are but anticipating and adding to their weight; and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/worry-not-about-the-possible-troubles-of-the-future-for-if-they-come/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [Gentleness corrects whatever is offensive in our manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/gentleness-corrects-whatever-is-offensive-in-our-manner/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [Taste consists in the power of judging; genius in the power of executing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/taste-consists-in-the-power-of-judging-genius-in-the-power-of/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [Those who are learning to compose and arrange their sentences with accuracy and order are learning, at the same time, to think with accuracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/those-who-are-learning-to-compose-and-arrange-their-sentences-with/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) > [Human ability is an unequal match for the violent and unforeseen vicissitudes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-blair/human-ability-is-an-unequal-match-for-the-violent-and-unforeseen/) [Hugh Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) [Explore all 20 Hugh Blair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-blair/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [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/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Compassion is an emotion of which we ought never to be ashamed. 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