"Passione lodevole" o "virtù assai sospetta"? La compassione nella filosofia francese del XVII secolo

The perception of compassion in seventeenth-century France relies mainly on ancient philosophy and on Christian thought. Though apprehended differently by various schools of thought (Thomism,Augustinism, neo-stoicism and Cartesianism), it is most of the praiseworthy passion, while others deny it any moral value, whether they see it as a product of self-love or as a purely physiological reaction. Althought it is understood as both a feeling ways clearly theorised. Finally, the term "compassion" proves to be synonymous with "pity" and often, also, with "mercy".