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The rhetoric, poetic, and Nicomachean ethics
The rhetoric poetic and Nicomachean ethics Author:Aristotle Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: TIIR NICOMACHEAN ETHICS. BOOK IV. CHAPTER I. An the next place, let us speak concerning liberality. But it appears to be a medium about riches. For t... more »he liberal man is praised, not in warlike concerns, nor in those things in which the temperate man is praised, nor, again, in judicial affairs, but in the giving and receiving of riches; and more in the giving, than the receiving. We call, however, riches every thing, the worth of which is measured by money. But prodigality and illi- berality are excesses and defects about riches. And we always, indeed, ascribe illiberality to those, who pay more attention to riches than is proper ; but combining, we sometimes attribute prodigality to the intemperate. For we call both the incontinent, and those who consumetheir property in intemperance, prodigals. Hence, men of this description appear to be most depraved; for at one and the same time they have many vices. They are not, however, appropriately denominated. For he is a prodigal, who has one certain vice, viz. the consumpiion of his property. For he is a prodigal, who is destroyed through him- self; since the consumption of his property appears to be a certain destruction of himself, as through this the means of living are obtained. In this way, therefore, we consider prodigality. With respect to those things, however, of which there is a certain use, it is possible to use them well or ill. But wealth is among the number of things useful. And he uses every thing in the best manner, who possesses the virtue pertaining to each thing. He, therefore, will use wealth in the best manner, who has the virtue pertaining to riches; and he is the liberal man. The use, however, of riches appears to be expense and donation; but the accepting and preservation of riches, is rather possess...« less