How we cite our quotes: Section.Part (if applicable).Paragraph
Quote #1
Reduce a person to solitude, and he loses all enjoyment, except either of the sensual or speculative kind; and that because the movements of his heart are not forwarded by correspondent movements in his fellow-creatures. The signs of sorrow and mourning, though arbitrary, affect us with melancholy; but the natural symptoms, tears and cries and groans, never fail to infuse compassion and uneasiness. (V.II.3)
While some folks may disagree, solitude isn't a virtue as far as Hume's concerned. Yeah, it gives us quiet thinking time, but not enjoyment. Hume believes that humans are naturally social and feel a sense of sympathy with others. Whether it's happiness or sadness, other people's emotions are transmitted to us via sympathy. Take away human company and what are we left with? Will Smith didn't do so good in I Am Legend (but then he did have vampire mutants to contend with. Cut the guy some slack!).
Quote #2
Thucydides and Guicciardin support with difficulty our attention; while the former describes the trivial encounters of the small cities of Greece, and the latter the harmless wars of Pisa […] The deep distress of the numerous Athenian army before Syracuse; the danger which so nearly threatens Venice; these excite compassion; these move terror and anxiety. (V.II.18)
You know the excitement you feel when watching an epic adventure movie? That's kind of what Hume is talking about here. Even when events took place centuries ago or in galaxies far, far away, we're drawn into stories of action, excitement, fear, and courage. So, whereas we might zone out when events are less dramatic and there are fewer people involved, our emotions kick in when the stakes are high.
Quote #3
When a person stutters, and pronounces with difficulty, we even sympathize […] And it is a rule in criticism, that every combination of syllables or letters, which gives pain to the organs of speech in the recital, appears also from a species of sympathy harsh and disagreeable to the ear. Nay, when we run over a book with our eye, we are sensible of such unharmonious composition; because we still imagine, that a person recites it to us, and suffers from the pronunciation of these jarring sounds. (V.II.21)
Because of our sense of sympathy, we feel compassion when other people are struggling—e.g., if someone has a stutter (The King's Speech didn't win an Oscar for nothing). We don't only feel this way when a person is right there in front of us—Hume explains that, if we read something that's badly written, we imagine a person reading it out loud and feel bad for them. For Hume, sympathy is finely tuned and sensitive to anything that suggests pain and unpleasantness.