A misreading of Freud has perpetuated two compelling and ubiquitous shibboleths, the fear of countertransference and the abstinence rule, that deprive psychoanalysts of the privilege of having the use of all of their feelings, especially the feeling of compassion and of behaving compassionately with their patients. The author attributes this state of affairs to reaction formation and to the development of a countertransference resistance. In effect Freud's advice about resistance has been transposed into a resistance (i.e., against feeling) itself.