Pity
Pity, or compassion, is a natural sentiment, according to Rousseau. Indeed it is the first of our "relative" sentiments (see the First Part of the Discourse on the Origin of Inequality) and the most fundamental expression of our participation in human misery. As Rousseau explains in the next paragraph, the cultivation of Emile's compassion (the topic of para788 through para811) can counter the development of envy and resentment at this stage when comparisons with others is inevitable.