[44]
The second point for the exercise of caution was1
that our beneficence should not exceed our means;
for those who wish to be more open-handed than
their circumstances permit are guilty of two faults:
first, they do wrong to their next of kin; for they
transfer to strangers property which would more
justly be placed at their service or bequeathed to
them. And second, such generosity too often engenders a passion for plundering and misappropriating
property, in order to supply the means for making
large gifts. We may also observe that a great many
people do many things that seem to be inspired
more by a spirit of ostentation than by heart-felt
kindness; for such people are not really generous
but are rather influenced by a sort of ambition to
make a show of being open-handed. Such a pose
is nearer akin to hypocrisy than to generosity or
moral goodness.
1 (2) within our means,
M. Tullius Cicero. De Officiis. With An English Translation. Walter Miller. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1913.
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