[45]
The third rule laid down was that in acts of1
kindness we should weigh with discrimination the
worthiness of the object of our benevolence; we
should take into consideration his moral character,
his attitude toward us, the intimacy of his relations
to us, and our common social ties, as well as the
services he has hitherto rendered in our interest.
It is to be desired that all these considerations
should be combined in the same person; if they
are not, then the more numerous and the more
important considerations must have the greater
weight.
1 (3) according to merit.
M. Tullius Cicero. De Officiis. With An English Translation. Walter Miller. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1913.
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