What is the difference between 'compassion' and 'pity'?

This page of [Dhamma Lists](http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/dhamma-lists/) includes, > **Four Brahma-viharas (Highest Attitudes/Emotions)** > Heavenly or sublime abodes (best home). Near enemy is a quality that can masquerade as the original, but is not the original. Far enemy is the opposite quality. > 1. Lovingkindness, good-will (metta): Near enemy – attachment; far enemy – hatred 2. Compassion (karuna): Near enemy – pity; far enemy – cruelty 3. Sympathetic joy, Appreciation (mudita), joy at the good fortune of others: Near enemy – comparison,hypocrisy, insincerity, joy for others but tinged with identification (my team, my child); far enemy – envy 4. Equanimity (upekkha): Near enemy – indifference; far enemy – anxiety, greed Given that "pity is the near enemy of compassion", then what is the difference between 'compassion' and 'pity' (e.g. what is present in compassion but absent in pity, or vice versa)? Does knowledge/awareness of that difference somehow inform your intentions and/or actions?