It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never

Haile Selassie, Lion of Judah and Emperor of Ethiopia, once spoke a truth both tender and piercing: “It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never wicked.” These words, though simple, strike like a bell that echoes through the halls of human history. For they reveal the contrast between the innocence of creation and the corruption of mankind. The animal, in its natural state, lives by need, by hunger, by survival—but not by malice. The human being, in contrast, too often invents cruelty, wages war not for survival but for pride, and wounds not out of necessity but out of wickedness.

To call animals never wicked is to recognize their purity. The lion hunts the gazelle, yet it does not hate it. The hawk strikes the dove, yet it does not mock its suffering. The wolf takes the sheep, but only because hunger drives it. None of these acts are wicked; they are the turning of nature’s wheel. But men, endowed with reason and conscience, are capable of betrayal, envy, malice, and oppression—acts born not from survival, but from the corruption of the heart. Thus Selassie reminds us: it is easy to love the creature who knows no deceit, but hard to love our own kind, who often cloak their faces in lies.

History itself testifies to this sorrowful truth. Consider the trenches of the First World War, where soldiers on both sides slaughtered one another for causes they scarcely understood. Yet even in that abyss, stray dogs and carrier pigeons were shown compassion, fed and sheltered amid the destruction. Men found it easier to love the animals that wandered through the battlefield than the enemies who looked like themselves. For the animal bore no guilt in that madness, while man’s heart was heavy with wicked invention.

And yet, within this truth lies a mirror for the soul. When Selassie says it is easier to show compassion to animals, he does not tell us to love them only, but to learn from them. The loyalty of the dog, the innocence of the lamb, the patience of the ox—these are qualities that shame our arrogance. If animals, without reason, live free of wickedness, should not we, with reason, aspire to the same? The beast teaches the man, if only the man will humble himself enough to learn.

Let us remember too that compassion for animals has often awakened compassion in the human heart. Mahatma Gandhi once said that the greatness of a nation is measured by how it treats its animals. When a child learns to care for a small bird, a stray cat, or a faithful dog, that child’s heart is trained in tenderness that later may extend to mankind. Thus, the practice of mercy to the innocent teaches mercy to the guilty, and in this way the wisdom of Selassie becomes a call to broader love.

The lesson, then, is not merely to cherish animals, though that is good and right. It is to use their innocence as a lantern to guide us. We must strive to strip away the wickedness that clouds our human spirit: pride, envy, cruelty, greed. We must learn to love our fellow man with the same ease with which we love the creatures of the field. For only when we extend our compassion to both beast and brother will our hearts be truly whole.

Practically, this means acting with kindness not only toward the dog who wags its tail, but toward the neighbor who scorns us; not only toward the bird who sings, but toward the stranger whose words cut deep. Feed the hungry beast, but also feed the hungry man. Shelter the stray, but also shelter the lonely soul. In doing so, we rise above the wickedness of our kind and approach the innocence of the creatures who never betray.

So hear the words of Haile Selassie: “It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never wicked.” Let it not only remind you of the loyalty of beasts, but also challenge you to look upon mankind with new eyes. For if the animal, without reason, is innocent, then surely the human, with reason, can choose innocence again. Strive for that choice, live by that mercy, and you will not only honor the animals, but redeem the heart of humanity itself.