"No [com]passion of another discovers itself immediately to the mind. We are only sensible of its causes or effects. From these we infer the passion: And consequently these give rise to our sympathy." - David Hume
...lots of pronouns in that quote. What I think Hume is saying is that your not going to feel any compassion toward others until you're around others. If you're not around the hurting, the sick, the poor, you're not going to have any empathy toward them. This isn't to say that you won't have feelings of compassion and empathy...you will, but perhaps only toward the person you feel most deserves it...yourself.
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