[52]
15. Now that I have set forth the moral duties of1
a young man, in so far as they may be exerted for
the attainment of glory, I must next in order discuss
kindness and generosity. The manner of showing
it is twofold: kindness is shown to the needy either
by personal service, or by gifts of money. The latter
way is the easier, especially for a rich man; but the
former is nobler and more dignified and more becoming to a strong and eminent man. For, although
both ways alike betray a generous wish to oblige,
still in the one case the favour makes a draft upon
one's bank account, in the other upon one's personal
energy; and the bounty which is drawn from one's
material substance tends to exhaust the very fountain
of liberality. Liberality is thus forestalled by liberality: for the more people one has helped with
gifts of money, the fewer one can help.
1 Generosity of two kinds:
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