Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
H. Rackham, Ed.

2. [6] （For as we said at the outset,¹ a disposition is defined by the activities in which it is displayed, and by the objects to which it is related.） So the magnificent man's expenditure is suitable as well as great. And consequently the objects he produces must also be great and suitable; for so only will a great expenditure be suitable [to the result²] as well. Hence, as the object produced must be worthy of the expenditure, so also must the expenditure be worthy of or even exceed the object produced. 2. [7] Again, the motive of the munificent man in such expenditure will be the nobility of the action, this motive being characteristic of all the virtues. 2. [8] Moreover he will spend gladly and lavishly, since nice calculation is shabby; 2. [9] and he will think how he can carry out his project most nobly and splendidly, rather than how much it will cost and how it can be done most cheaply. 2. [10] The magnificent man will therefore necessarily be also a liberal man. For the liberal man too will spend the right amount in the right manner; and it is in the amount and manner of his expenditure that the element ‘great’ in the magnificent or ‘greatly splendid’³ man, that is to say his greatness, is shown, these being the things in which Liberality is displayed. And the magnificent man from an equal outlay will achieve a more magnificent result⁴; for the same standard of excellence does not apply to an achievement as to a possession: with possessions the thing worth the highest price is the most honored, for instance gold, but the achievement most honored is one that is great and noble （since a great achievement arouses the admiration of the spectator, and the quality of causing admiration belongs to magnificence）; and excellence in an achievement involves greatness. 2. [11] Now there are some forms of expenditure definitely entitled honorable, for instance expenditure on the service of the gods— votive offerings, public buildings, sacrifices—and the offices of religion generally; and those public benefactions which are favorite objects of ambition, for instance the duty, as it is esteemed in certain states, of equipping a chorus splendidly or fitting out a ship of war, or even of giving a banquet to the public. 2. [12] But in all these matters, as has been said, the scale of expenditure must be judged with reference to the person spending, that is, to his position and his resources; for expenditure should be proportionate to means, and suitable not only to the occasion but to the giver. 2. [13] Hence a poor man cannot be magnificent, since he has not the means to make a great outlay suitably; the poor man who attempts Magnificence is foolish, for he spends out of proportion to his means, and beyond what he ought, whereas an act displays virtue only when it is done in the right way. 2. [14] But great public benefactions are suitable for those who have adequate resources derived from their own exertions or from their ancestors or connections, and for the high-born and famous and the like, since birth, fame and so on all have an element of greatness and distinction. 2. [15] The magnificent man therefore is especially of this sort, and Magnificence mostly finds an outlet in these public benefactions, as we have said, since these are the greatest forms of expenditure and the ones most honored. But Magnificence is also shown on those private occasions for expenditure which only happen once,