pathos vs. ethos

the quality or power in an actual life experience or in literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of evoking a feeling of pity, or of sympathetic and kindly sorrow or compassion.

pity.

Obsolete. suffering.

Sociology. the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society; dominant assumptions of a people or period:

the character or disposition of a community, group, person, etc.

the moral element in dramatic literature that determines a character's action rather than their thought or emotion.