He is not affected by the reality of distress touching his heart, but by the showy resemblance of it striking his imagination. He pities the plumage, but forgets the dying bird.

Summary

This quote criticizes individuals who are more concerned with appearances and superficial aspects of a situation rather than acknowledging and addressing its true essence. The person being described lacks genuine compassion as they are drawn to the external display of suffering, but fail to connect with the actual pain and struggle underlying it. This highlights the shallow nature of their empathy, where they only pay attention to the surface-level effects without acknowledging or taking action to alleviate the deeper issues.

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