How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"I think you can't possibly know the truth about somebody unless you love them. I think the speaker loved Father, Marcao, I mean. I think he understood him and loved him before he spoke."
Mother didn't answer, because she knew it was true.
"And I think he loves Grego, and Quara, and Olhado. And Miro, and even Quim. And me. I know he loves me. And when he shows me that he loves me, I know it's true because he never lies to anybody." (16.120-122)
This isn't actually true—the Speaker lies all the time, at least by omission. He misleads Olhado into helping him, for example, because Olhado doesn't know that he's going to use the information to break into Novinha's files. If compassion is built on truth, then Ela's case for the Speaker's universal compassion seems dubious. For that matter, the book itself is a lie—after all, there is no Ender, no Ela, no Lusitania. Does that mean the book isn't compassionate? Or does it mean that truth and love don't go together in quite the way Ela (and the novel) seem to want them to?
Quote #8
"My oath is to the Starways Congress," said Bosquinha, "but I'll perjure myself this minute to save the lives of my people. I say the fence comes down and we try to make the most of our rebellion." (16.374)
Community here is the incubator of compassion, and maybe the other way around too. Bosquinha is willing to break rules because she feels her first commitment is to the people there who she loves. And who she loves determines how the community works—in part by taking down the fence and including the piggies.
Quote #9
"I cut him with these hands, " he cried. "I tried to honor him, and I killed his tree forever!"
"No," said Ender. He took Mandachuva's hands, held them. "You both thought you were saving each other's life. He hurt you, and you—hurt him, yes, killed him, but you both believed you were doing good. That's enough, until now." (17.375-376)
This is another round of I am guilty, you didn't mean it, so forgive. The last bit, though suggests that this isn't quite enough—you also have to go on and try to change things. You can't just keep planting humans willy-nilly. Two dead humans is an error; three or more starts to look like carelessness.