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who spends according to his substance and on the right objects; and he who
exceeds is prodigal. Hence we do not call despots prodigal; for it is thought
not easy for them to give and spend beyond the amount of their possessions.
Liberality, then, being a mean with regard to giving and taking of wealth, the
liberal man will both give and spend the right amounts and on the right
objects, alike in small things and in great, and that with pleasure; he will also
take the right amounts and from the right sources. For, the virtue being a
mean with regard to both, he will do both as he ought; since this sort of taking
accompanies proper giving, and that which is not of this sort is contrary to it,
and accordingly the giving and taking that accompany each other are present
together in the same man, while the contrary kinds evidently are not. But if he
happens to spend in a manner contrary to what is right and noble, he will be
pained, but moderately and as he ought; for it is the mark of virtue both to be
pleased and to be pained at the right objects and in the right way. Further, the
liberal man is easy to deal with in money matters; for he can be got the better
of, since he sets no store by money, and is more annoyed if he has not spent
something that he ought than pained if he has spent something that he ought
not, and does not agree with the saying of Simonides.
The prodigal errs in these respects also; for he is neither pleased nor pained
at the right things or in the right way; this will be more evident as we go on.
We have said that prodigality and meanness are excesses and deficiencies, and
in two things, in giving and in taking; for we include spending under giving.
Now prodigality exceeds in giving and not taking, while meanness falls short
in giving, and exceeds in taking, except in small things.
The characteristics of prodigality are not often combined; for it is not easy
to give to all if you take from none; private persons soon exhaust their
substance with giving, and it is to these that the name of prodigals is applied
—though a man of this sort would seem to be in no small degree better than a
mean man. For he is easily cured both by age and by poverty, and thus he may
move towards the middle state. For he has the characteristics of the liberal
man, since he both gives and refrains from taking, though he does neither of
these in the right manner or well. Therefore if he were brought to do so by
habituation or in some other way, he would be liberal; for he will then give to
the right people, and will not take from the wrong sources. This is why he is
thought to have not a bad character; it is not the mark of a wicked or ignoble
man to go to excess in giving and not taking, but only of a foolish one. The
man who is prodigal in this way is thought much better than the mean man
both for the aforesaid reasons and because he benefits many while the other
benefits no one, not even himself.
But most prodigal people, as has been said, also take from the wrong
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book The Complete Aristotle"
The Complete Aristotle
- Title
- The Complete Aristotle
- Author
- Aristotle
- Date
- ~322 B.C.
- Language
- English
- License
- PD
- Size
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Pages
- 2328
- Keywords
- Philosophy, Antique, Philosophie, Antike, Dialogues, Metaphysik, Metaphysics, Ideologie, Ideology, Englisch
- Categories
- Geisteswissenschaften
- International
Table of contents
- Part 1; Logic (Organon) 3
- Categories 4
- On Interpretation 34
- Prior Analytics, Book I 56
- Prior Analytics, Book II 113
- Posterior Analytics, Book I 149
- Posterior Analytics, Book II 193
- Topics, Book I 218
- Topics, Book II 221
- Topics, Book III 237
- Topics, Book IV 248
- Topics, Book V 266
- Topics, Book VI 291
- Topics, Book VII 317
- Topics, Book VIII 326
- On Sophistical Refutations 348
- Part 2; Universal Physics 396
- Physics, Book I 397
- Physics, Book II 415
- Physics, Book III 432
- Physics, Book IV 449
- Physics, Book V 481
- Physics, Book VI 496
- Physics, Book VII 519
- Physics, Book VIII 533
- On the Heavens, Book I 570
- On the Heavens, Book II 599
- On the Heavens, Book III 624
- On the Heavens, Book IV 640
- On Generation and Corruption, Book I 651
- On Generation and Corruption, Book II 685
- Meteorology, Book I 707
- Meteorology, Book II 733
- Meteorology, Book III 760
- Meteorology, Book IV 773
- Part 3; Human Physics 795
- On the Soul, Book I 796
- On the Soul, Book II 815
- On the Soul, Book III 840
- On Sense and the Sensible 861
- On Memory and Reminiscence 889
- On Sleep and Sleeplessness 899
- On Dreams 909
- On Prophesying by Dreams 918
- On Longevity and the Shortness of Life 923
- On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration 929
- Part 4; Animal Physics 952
- The History of Animals, Book I 953
- The History of Animals, Book II translated 977
- The History of Animals, Book III 1000
- The History of Animals, Book IV 1029
- The History of Animals, Book V 1056
- The History of Animals, Book VI 1094
- The History of Animals, Book VII 1135
- The History of Animals, Book VIII 1150
- The History of Animals, Book IX 1186
- On the Parts of Animals, Book I 1234
- On the Parts of Animals, Book II 1249
- On the Parts of Animals, Book III 1281
- On the Parts of Animals, Book IV 1311
- On the Motion of Animals 1351
- On the Gait of Animals 1363
- On the Generation of Animals, Book I 1381
- On the Generation of Animals, Book II 1412
- On the Generation of Animals, Book III 1444
- On the Generation of Animals, Book IV 1469
- On the Generation of Animals, Book V 1496
- Part 5; Metaphysics 1516
- Part 6; Ethics and Politics 1748
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book I 1749
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book II 1766
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book III 1779
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IV 1799
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book V 1817
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VI 1836
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VII 1851
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII 1872
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IX 1890
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book X 1907
- Politics, Book I 1925
- Politics, Book II 1943
- Politics, Book III 1970
- Politics, Book IV 1997
- Politics, Book V 2023
- Politics, Book VI 2053
- Politics, Book VII 2065
- Politics, Book VIII 2091
- The Athenian Constitution 2102
- Part 7; Aesthetic Writings 2156