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64]
It will, moreover, befit a gentleman to be at the
same time liberal in giving and not inconsiderate in
exacting his dues, but in every business relation—in buying or selling, in hiring or letting, in relations
arising out of adjoining houses and lands—to be fair,
reasonable, often freely yielding much of his own
right, and keeping out of litigation as far as his
interests will permit and perhaps even a little
farther. For it is not only generous occasionally to
abate a little of one's rightful claims, but it is sometimes even advantageous. We should, however,
have a care for our personal property, for it is discreditable to let it run through our fingers; but we
must guard it in such a way that there shall be no
suspicion of meanness or avarice. For the greatest
privilege of wealth is, beyond all peradventure, the
opportunity it affords for doing good, without sacrificing one's fortune.
Hospitality also is a theme of Theophrastus's praise, 1
and rightly so. For, as it seems to me at least, it is
most proper that the homes of distinguished men
should be open to distinguished guests. And it is
to the credit of our country also that men from
abroad do not fail to find hospitable entertainment
of this kind in our city. It is, moreover, a very
[p. 239]
great advantage, too, for those who wish to obtain a
powerful political influence by honourable means to
be able through their social relations with their
guests to enjoy popularity and to exert influence
abroad. For an instance of extraordinary hospitality, Theophrastus writes that at Athens Cimon
was hospitable even to the Laciads, the people of
his own deme; for he instructed his bailiffs to that
end and gave them orders that every attention
should be shown to any Laciad who should ever call
at his country home.
