Compassion

Animals have no pity: a peregrine pulls meat from the blackbird writhing in its talons; an adult bison towards the rear of its stampeding herd, in full flight through deep snow from a pack of wolves, lunges into the yearling calf in front, throwing it to the chasing pack; among a half-dozen young blue tits squabbling for position at a garden feeder, one below pecks the one above in its bottom, displacing it with an injured squeal. And yet … chimpanzees and bonobos will orient caregiving towards vulnerable and wounded conspecifics1, as did Neanderthal families 200,000 years go2. The empathetic nature of domestic horses brings therapeutic benefits to vulnerable children and young adults3. Dogs make discerning companion animals when treated sensitively themselves4.

Compassionate emotions in modern humans encompass all or elements of pity, sympathy and empathy1 in their power to transcend objective judgement. Compassion can exert its influence subconsciously with the subtlest of prosocial signals – the head oriented forwards, obliquely configured eyebrows, or raised lower eyelids. A nurse sits for a moment at a patient’s bedside to hear their story; a pharmacist says “Awe!” on being shown a grazed finger in need of a plaster. Just like that, a weight is lifted, pain evaporates … And yet, this angelic charm soon exhausts itself 5. The very vulnerability of its power, which trembles between tenderness and cruelty in epic tales6, eases the way ahead in quotidian life. Sheep farmers send their lambs for slaughter at 3-6 months of age, often before weaning, so that the nurse or the pharmacist may enjoy tender roast lamb so much more than tired mutton. Does a vegan feel compassion for vegetables? Do they not know that plants can feel, hear, smell, taste, learn and remember, recognise and care for kin7! The small-flowering herb of compassion, which itself abounds with all of these capabilities, is so easily basted and grilled by any relativistic argument. Thus do we stay sane, rendering our emotions palatable with seasoned justifications and hot ignorance.

“The main matter which terrifies and torments most that are troubled in mind, is the enormity of their offences, the intolerable burden of their sins,” observed Robert Burton in his 1621 Anatomy of Melancholy 8. “But these men must know there is no sin so heinous which is not pardonable in itself, no crime so great but by God’s mercy it may be forgiven.” Burton goes on to cite the many passages of the Old and New Testaments that demonstrate God’s grace with penitent believers. Having opened avenues to self-compassion for remorseful souls, the Judeo-Christian God commands us to love our neighbour as ourself. The Islamic Qur'an likewise commands love and compassion9. The Indic religions – Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism – variously all teach compassion for life itself. The Indian Constitution accordingly prescribes a fundamental duty ‘to have compassion for living creatures’10, the only national constitution to do so, and in apparent contradiction to its own legal system which classifies animals as property11.

“Compassion acts as a stimulus to clemency” thought Michel de Montaigne in 158012; fear inspires prudent self-preservation and self-control; ambition and arrogance awaken many fair actions … “In short, not one eminent or dashing virtue can exist without some strong, unruly emotion.” The model of virtue may evolve with society, but its transformational power remains immutably embedded in raw emotion.

Angel! oh, take it, pluck it, that small-flowered herb of healing!

Get a vase to preserve it. Set it among those joys

not yet open to us: in a graceful urn

praise it, with florally soaring inscription:

‘Subrisio Saltat.’ 13.

• Goetz et al. (2010) Compassion: an evolutionary analysis and empirical review. Psychological Bulletin. On definitions, none of which have full consensus, being highly dependent on context: compassion is a prosocial response to another’s suffering; sympathy is attuned particularly to undeserved suffering; empathy is a vicarious emotional response, appropriate to someone else’s situation as distinct from one’s own; pity relates to feelings of sadness and concern for another in reduced circumstances – ‘there but for the grace of God go I,’ elaborated in Aristotle’s 350 BCE Rhetoric.
• A Neanderthal social group in the Iberian Peninsula 200,000 years ago used collaborative parenting to care for a child with Down syndrome.
• The Federation of Horses in Education and Therapy International (HETI).
• Bräuer, J. et al. (2024) Dogs distinguish authentic human emotions without being empathic. Animal Cognition.
• Sinnathamby, A., et al. (2025) Towards a theory of compassion fatigue in palliative care and oncology: a systematic scoping review. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Compassion fatigue sets in when a care-giver’s exposure to the suffering of others intrudes on their own sense of identity.
• In the 1800 BCE Epic of Gilgamesh, the eponymous hero, ruler of Uruk in the 27ᵗʰ century BCE and builder of its surrounding walls, quests for everlasting fame through glorious death. To this end he embarks on a journey with his only equal in strength, the wild-raised Enkidu, to take on the monstrous Humbaba. But at the very moment of vanquishing his fearsome enemy, Gilgamesh is moved with compassion by Humbaba taking his hand and leading him to his house. His purpose wavering, Gilgamesh looks to his stormy-hearted companion Enkidu, who duly shames him into showing judgement over pity and killing the now diminished quarry. Subsequently, Gilgamesh’s excessive pride in exalting their deeds leads to the death of faithful Enkidu. Gilgamesh’s despair spurs him to a new quest, now for eternal life itself. He seeks out King Utanapishtim, who tests his resolve by challenging Gilgamesh to stay awake for six days and seven nights, in a contest against Death’s younger brother Sleep. Gilgamesh fails immediately, inciting the compassion of Utanapishtim’s wife, who saves him from death by arranging for her husband to awaken him after the allotted time and present him with evidence of his long sleep. She again shows pity on Gilgamesh, by persuading her husband to give him a water-plant that holds the secret to eternal life. This fortuitous gift seems to end his quest in success at last – except that Gilgamesh carelessly loses the plant. The epic story ends with Gilgamesh finally understanding the irony of his own human frailty. Gilgamesh resigns himself to immortality through his already great legacy, of having constructed the magnificent walls of Uruk. Remnants of his wall stand to this day.
• Jagadish Chandra Bose’s 1919 demonstration of nervous mechanisms in plants initiated a gradually dawning respect over the ensuing 100 years for the sophisticated lives of plants.
• Burton, Robert (1621) The Anatomy of Melancholy. Page 649.
• Qur'an 5:39 on repentance, and 30:21 on love and compassion.
• The Constitution of India (1949, revised 2016) Part IVA Fundamental Duties, 51A(g) ‘to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures’.
• Tarabout, G. 2019. Compassion for living creatures in Indian law courts. Religions.
• Montaigne, Michel de (1580) An Apology for Raymond Sebond. Translated from French by M. A. Screech.
• Excerpt from Rainer Maria Rilke’s 1912 Fifth Elegy, translated from German by J. B. Leishman. ‘Subrisio Saltat.’ (as on a chemist’s jar) translates from the Latin Subrisio Saltatoris as ‘acrobat’s smile’.

C.P. Doncaster, Timeline of the Human Condition, star index