--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Empathy comes from the Greek empatheia…" description: "\"“Empathy comes from the Greek empatheia - em (into) and pathos (feeling) - a penetration, a kind of travel. It suggests you enter another person's pain..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/leslie-jamison-8628_border_empathy-comes-from-the-greek-empatheia-e_2799879.jpg" --- # Empathy comes from the Greek empatheia - em (into) and… ![“Empathy comes from the Greek empatheia - em (into) and pathos (feeling) - a penetration, a kind of travel. It suggests you enter another person's pain as you'd enter another country, through immigration and customs, border crossing by way of query: What grows where you are? What are the laws? What…” quote by Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/leslie-jamison-8628_border_empathy-comes-from-the-greek-empatheia-e_2799879.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/leslie-jamison-8628_border_empathy-comes-from-the-greek-empatheia-e_2799879.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/leslie-jamison-8628_border_empathy-comes-from-the-greek-empatheia-e_2799879.jpg) > ““Empathy comes from the Greek empatheia - em (into) and pathos (feeling) - a penetration, a kind of travel. It suggests you enter another person's pain as you'd enter another country, through immigration and customs, border crossing by way of query: What grows where you are? What are the laws? What animals graze there?”” [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Empathy is an immersive journey into another’s experience, like crossing borders to understand foreign lands. **In simple terms:** Empathy requires entering others’ worlds. Key Takeaway Practice active listening. Themes empathy connection culture Mood introspective compassionate Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - counseling - travel - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology anthropology communication Questions to Reflect On - What borders do you keep? - How can you broaden understanding? A Different Perspective Empathy can be selective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Border](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/border/) [Border Crossing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/border-crossing-1869035/) [Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [Empathy Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy-comes-615465/) [Greek Empatheia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greek-empatheia-3442526/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pathos Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pathos-feeling-3124895/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [The border crossing is the most dangerous moment for anyone attempting to escape. But my brother and mother had been waved off by every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hyeon-seo/the-border-crossing-is-the-most-dangerous-moment-for-anyone/) [Lee Hyeon-seo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hyeon-seo/) > [When you see a bad romantic comedy, you see the script, the director, and the actors trying to create this warmth and this pathos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-garlin/when-you-see-a-bad-romantic-comedy-you-see-the-script-the-director/) [Jeff Garlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-garlin/) > [“Derived from the Greek word “em” (in) and “pathos” (feeling), the term “empath” refers to a person who is able to “feel into” the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mateo-sol/derived-from-the-greek-word-em-in-and-pathos-feeling-the-term-empath/) [Mateo Sol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mateo-sol/) > [“Fear gripped me as my children and I arrived at the Ukraine-Moldova border crossing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-de-blecourt/fear-gripped-me-as-my-children-and-i-arrived-at-the-ukraine-moldova/) [Kim De Blecourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-de-blecourt/) > [The best advice I have is, actually present yourself at a legal border crossing and make your case. Cross illegally and get arrested, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-azar/the-best-advice-i-have-is-actually-present-yourself-at-a-legal-border/) [Alex Azar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-azar/) > [Empathy comes from being empathized with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-greenspan/empathy-comes-from-being-empathized-with/) [Stanley Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-greenspan/) > [In order to be a good emergency contact, you need a lot of friend-patience and empathy. Often, this comes from personal experience with anxiety,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-h-k-choi/in-order-to-be-a-good-emergency-contact-you-need-a-lot-of-friend/) [Mary H.K. Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-h-k-choi/) > [“I do not expect you to understand, Mr. Cunningham. You do not have the experience to understand what has happened to me, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/i-do-not-expect-you-to-understand-mr-cunningham-you-do-not-have-the/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [It's got to do with putting yourself in other people's shoes and seeing how far you can come to truly understand them. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-bale/it-s-got-to-do-with-putting-yourself-in-other-people-s-shoes-and/) [Christian Bale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-bale/) > [As in a Russian doll, however, the outer layers always contain an inner core. Instead of evolution having replaced simpler forms of empathy with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/as-in-a-russian-doll-however-the-outer-layers-always-contain-an-inner/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [I needed people to deliver my feelings back to me in a form that was legible. Which is a superlative kind of empathy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-needed-people-to-deliver-my-feelings-back-to-me-in-a-form-that-was/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“Tear down your border of thicket and vine creating a free world, yours and mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cosgrove/tear-down-your-border-of-thicket-and-vine-creating-a-free-world-yours/) [Stephen Cosgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cosgrove/) > [We believe that there are aspects of border security that Democrats and Republicans can agree on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-durbin/we-believe-that-there-are-aspects-of-border-security-that-democrats/) [Dick Durbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-durbin/) > [My message to everyone: the next time you hear about migrant children near the border, just picture them as your own. Then think what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-sharpton/my-message-to-everyone-the-next-time-you-hear-about-migrant-children/) [Al Sharpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-sharpton/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) ## More by Leslie Jamison > [When people ask what kind of nonfiction I write, I say 'all kinds,' but really I mean I don’t write any kind at all:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/when-people-ask-what-kind-of-nonfiction-i-write-i-say-all-kinds-but/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [It's one of the most liberating things I experience in writing - letting yourself get rid of a gesture or character or plot point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/it-s-one-of-the-most-liberating-things-i-experience-in-writing/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [The pain is what you make of it. You have to find something in it that yields. I understood my guiding imperative as: keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/the-pain-is-what-you-make-of-it-you-have-to-find-something-in-it-that/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I needed people to deliver my feelings back to me in a form that was legible. Which is a superlative kind of empathy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-needed-people-to-deliver-my-feelings-back-to-me-in-a-form-that-was/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [In my own life as a reader I experience real moments of alienation when a writer feels too perfect, or like even the flaws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/in-my-own-life-as-a-reader-i-experience-real-moments-of-alienation/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I'm happy not knowing. Most of the time (except when I'm a neurotic mess about uncertainty) I feel glad that the horizon is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-m-happy-not-knowing-most-of-the-time-except-when-i-m-a-neurotic/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I do like arranging things. I like order. I basically like all these things that are the opposite of what people associate with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-do-like-arranging-things-i-like-order-i-basically-like-all-these/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I used to believe that hurting would make you more alive to the hurting of others. I used to believe in feeling bad because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-used-to-believe-that-hurting-would-make-you-more-alive-to-the/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [Whatever we can’t hold, we hang on a hook that will hold it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/whatever-we-can-t-hold-we-hang-on-a-hook-that-will-hold-it/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“I obsessed, and told myself this obsession was empathy. But it wasn't, quite. It was more like inpathy. I wasn't expatriating myself into another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-obsessed-and-told-myself-this-obsession-was-empathy-but-it-wasn-t/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [Post-wounded women know that postures of pain play into limited and outmoded conceptions of womanhood. Their hurt has a new native language spoken in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/post-wounded-women-know-that-postures-of-pain-play-into-limited-and/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [12-step recovery is very focused on abstinence, and that's bled into the broader understanding of treatment. It would be most useful to have multiple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/12-step-recovery-is-very-focused-on-abstinence-and-that-s-bled-into/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [We don't want to be wounds ("No, you're the wound!") but we should be allowed to have them, to speak about having them, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/we-don-t-want-to-be-wounds-no-you-re-the-wound-but-we-should-be/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“Empathy means realizing no trauma has discrete edges. Trauma bleeds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/empathy-means-realizing-no-trauma-has-discrete-edges-trauma-bleeds/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“Empathy isn't just listening, it's asking the questions whose answers need to be listened to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/empathy-isn-t-just-listening-it-s-asking-the-questions-whose-answers/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) [Explore all 79 Leslie Jamison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) ## More Border quotes > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [“Tear down your border of thicket and vine creating a free world, yours and mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cosgrove/tear-down-your-border-of-thicket-and-vine-creating-a-free-world-yours/) [Stephen Cosgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cosgrove/) > [We believe that there are aspects of border security that Democrats and Republicans can agree on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-durbin/we-believe-that-there-are-aspects-of-border-security-that-democrats/) [Dick Durbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-durbin/) > [My message to everyone: the next time you hear about migrant children near the border, just picture them as your own. Then think what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-sharpton/my-message-to-everyone-the-next-time-you-hear-about-migrant-children/) [Al Sharpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-sharpton/) > [I think there are definitely a lot of subjects I don't share with people, but I'm not sure where that border is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-lekman/i-think-there-are-definitely-a-lot-of-subjects-i-don-t-share-with/) [Jens Lekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-lekman/) > [Border security is not only related to resources competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hailemariam-desalegn/border-security-is-not-only-related-to-resources-competition/) [Hailemariam Desalegn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hailemariam-desalegn/) > [In 2019 folks were coming across the border and were sitting down, they were sitting down waiting for Border Patrol to come up because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-wolf/in-2019-folks-were-coming-across-the-border-and-were-sitting-down/) [Chad Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-wolf/) > [Russians not only vehemently despise blacks, they believe Africa begins at the Ukraine border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/russians-not-only-vehemently-despise-blacks-they-believe-africa/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The border is varied depending on the geography, depending on the specific venue, and depending on the conduct of individuals around it. We don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-mayorkas/the-border-is-varied-depending-on-the-geography-depending-on-the/) [Alejandro Mayorkas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-mayorkas/) > [It's not rocket science. It's not super high technology to construct border barriers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kobach/it-s-not-rocket-science-it-s-not-super-high-technology-to-construct/) [Kris Kobach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kobach/) > [The president has promised greater border security. We can agree to that. A literal wall might not be the most effective means to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/the-president-has-promised-greater-border-security-we-can-agree-to/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [“All of the things that wore you down, even as that was balanced by the electric feeling of being on the side of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/all-of-the-things-that-wore-you-down-even-as-that-was-balanced-by-the/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“Love for one's country is great but why should that love stop at that border?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-casals/love-for-one-s-country-is-great-but-why-should-that-love-stop-at-that/) [Pablo Casals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-casals/) > [ I'm not an expert on the ways of Washington \[but\] it makes no sense to me that we're not funding control of our border. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-m-not-an-expert-on-the-ways-of-washington-but-it-makes-no-sense-to/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [The Biden administration is not just letting a record number of illegal immigrants cross our border, they are bringing them here. They are prohibiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cain/the-biden-administration-is-not-just-letting-a-record-number-of/) [Will Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cain/) [Browse all 475 Border quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/border/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Empathy comes from the Greek empatheia - em (into) and pathos (feeling) - a penetration, a kind of travel. It suggests you enter another person's pain as you'd enter another country, through immigration and customs, border crossing by way of query: What grows where you are? What are the laws? 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