[12]
The persons men pity are those whom they know, provided they are not too
closely connected with them for if they are, they feel the same as if they
themselves were likely
to suffer. This is why Amasis1 is said not
to have wept when his son was led to execution, but did weep at the sight of a
friend reduced to beggary, for the latter excited pity, the former terror. The
terrible is different from the pitiable, for it drives out pity, and often
serves to produce the opposite feeling.
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Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vol. 22, translated by J. H. Freese. Aristotle. Cambridge and London. Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd. 1926.
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