LOVE VS COMPASSION
You can love someone out of pity, empathy, sympathy- you may feel sad, pity, sorry about other person –which is only a compassion or care. It is called sympathy love. But not a Compassionate Love.
If you love out of pity, it means you are doing a favour by being with them. It can be a love of helping and nurturing someone, but it is not a romantic love or compassionate love. It is just Compassion or Care. If you love someone out of pity, it is a very terrible thing, to be honest, for the other .It is like a wheel without bearings. It is a fledging love. If you don’t like any one enough, please say No.
It could be argued that all “Compassion “ ( or Care) may be “ Compassionate Love”. Indeed some may argue that Compassion is not compassion at all unless it is coupled with care. Some even argue that Compassion is altruistic Love.
Whatever side of fence you are on, it is not entirely true that Compassion (and or Care) cannot be felt without also feeling Love. Anecdotally the Nurse cares and is Compassionate to the Patient but not in “Love” of deep affection and attachment.
You can feel compassion for strangers. You can feel compassion at the old lion in the cage. Or you see an old woman crossing the street and you helped her. You can say you cared or have compassion for this lion or woman.
But Love is an intense feeling of deep affection .You cannot live without that person in life. You can love only to person you know. Compassion ( caring) is about camaraderie or out of pity and in short term just as you should in above example to the lion or woman.
Compassion is a complement (necessary ) to the Love, whereas Love is only a supplement ( something extra which is not always there-not sine qua non) to the compassion. This means when you love someone it also denotes compassion ( care) for them, but if you have compassion ( care) towards someone it does not mean that you love them.