How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
He is like one flayed alive, thought Captain Delano; where may one touch him without causing a shrink? (3.332)
Delano sees Benito Cereno's pain, and feels bad for it. But he doesn't understand it, which is why he keeps touching him in such a way that he shrinks. Compassion without knowledge doesn't necessarily make anyone better off. If you're as oblivious as Captain Delano, you're likely to make the objects of your compassion wish you'd leave them alone.
Quote #5
He smote Babo's hand down, but his heart smote him harder. (3.370)
Captain Delano feels horrible for Benito Cereno, whom he has falsely accused. No sympathy to spare for Babo, though, who after all has been unjustly stolen from his home, imprisoned, and enslaved. Delano is a racist, which means in part that he reserves his compassion for white people.
Quote #6
"I could not look at you, thinking of what both on board this ship and your own, hung, from other hands, over my kind benefactor. And as God lives, Don Amasa, I know not whether desire for my own safety alone could have nerved me to that leap into your boat." (3.418)
While Delano was feeling sorry for Benito, Benito was feeling sorry for Delano. Compassion here gave Don Benito the power and ability to escape and take a leap of faith. Don Benito has super-compassion—which seems ironic since he's a slave trader. If only he'd felt some compassion for the people he'd captured, maybe he wouldn't have kidnapped them, and then everyone could have avoided a lot of death and misery.