If you feel nothing for others' pain, you do not deserve the name human.

What it means

Compassion is not an extra; Saadi treats it as the definition of being human. Indifference shrinks a person. Let the suffering of others move you to act.

The source

"If you feel nothing for others' pain, you do not deserve the name human." Saadi said it in Gulistan 1.10. Translated by James Ross, 1823.

"thou, who art indifferent to other men's affliction, if they call thee a man, art unworthy of the"

James Ross, 1823, Gulistan 1.10. Text read at archive.org.

Who said it

Saadi (c. 1210–1291). Poet of Shiraz who travelled for decades before writing the Bustan and the Gulistan, a book of stories and maxims in prose and verse.

Questions

What does "If you feel nothing for others' pain, you do not deserve the name human." mean?

Compassion is not an extra; Saadi treats it as the definition of being human. Indifference shrinks a person. Let the suffering of others move you to act.

Who said "If you feel nothing for others' pain, you do not deserve the name human."?

Saadi (c. 1210–1291). Source: Gulistan 1.10.

What is the original wording?

thou, who art indifferent to other men's affliction, if they call thee a man, art unworthy of the (James Ross, 1823). Translated by James Ross, 1823.

Is "If you feel nothing for others' pain, you do not deserve the name human." on a shirt?

Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 6 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.

"If you feel nothing for others' pain, you do not deserve the name human." (Saadi, Gulistan 1.10, trans. James Ross, 1823). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/if-you-feel-nothing-for-others-pain-you