De principis instructione — Distinctio Prima

De principis instructione — Distinctio Prima

The generosity of a prince is fitting for great men. The virtue of a generous leader is no less fitting for great men than for those who are predicted, and it is even more appropriate for a leader to the extent that he is fruitful in his work and has the ability to give generously and reward the service of many with favor and grace. Luke 6. ; Matthew. 118. ; Cor. You must be strong. To the Colossians. III. ; Peter. IV. ; Hebrews. Thirteen. , Matthew. Gregory also invites us to the same, presenting this example. In this, it is a matter of great importance. . . 'Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.'^✦ Let's move on to the admirable generosity of the chosen leaders. As it is written in the Saturnalibus, 'Sublimis Maciobius, after the victory at Actium, was returning to Augustus.' . . "He ordered the Greek to count a hundred thousand sesterces." However, let a great man beware of the maliciousness of denying. Just as Antigonus replied to the cynical man asking for a talent, saying that it is more than a cynic ought to ask for; he said that the minimum is less than what a king should require. To give. Look how deceitfully he denied it. He could have given a talent, since he himself was a king; or even the least, since he was a cynic. Better was Alexander, who, when he was giving a city to someone who said it was not fitting to accept such a humble gift of fortune, replied, "I don't ask what you ought to receive, but what I should give." Who, however, is De Benef.? David. Can David, the king of all, be compared in generosity to anyone who, when faced with the mortal enemy King Saul, whom the Lord had delivered into his hands, both spared his life and gave him a kingdom? Those who are also dissuaded by their own from taking that part. He said, "You won't do this, my brothers," regarding the burdens that need to be carried. Constantine Augustus, who was miraculously cured of leprosy and given to Pope Sylvester and his successors, brought the city of Rome and the entire Western Empire, and he rightly deserves to be counted among the generous and is to be preferred above all the generous on earth for the greatness of his gifts. Some things must be given, but you should still hold on to what is necessary. It must be observed that there is a way to do this. For this reason, freedom is not given for the sake of freedom. You should either fulfill your duties or exhaust your resources, or completely deplete your inheritance. For, as Seneca says, "I will give to the needy, but so that I myself do not need; I will help the one who is perishing, but so that I do not perish myself." Socrates: "Use what is foreign as if it were your own, so that you do not become entangled in another's business"; likewise: "What you have, use it in such a way that you do not need what belongs to another." Ambrose: "We must help as much as we can, and sometimes even more than we can"; but shortly after, as if correcting himself, he adds, "Yet let there be a measure of mercy, so that no one takes everything for themselves, but shares what they have with the poor." We shouldn't give too much from our abundance, not even to our own children, let alone to strangers. Ecclus. 32. . It is necessary to fulfill the duties assigned to you. II. What good is it to you, if you seek the favor of the Macedonians with money? Alexander, in his generosity, wrote these words to his father: "What error led you to hope for this?" . . . "Greater hatred follows those from whom favors have been taken away than those from whom they have been given." Jeremiah: "Most often, many give great gifts to their trumpeters, and, in a few, generosity is spread out, but I cannot find Jeronimus." In the same way: "Providence does not allow that which you freely do for a long time to be done without consequence." If you keep the right measure in giving, however, being generous is a virtue; if you exceed that measure, you undoubtedly incur the sin of prodigality. However, the distinctions in giving and retaining can be clearly understood: "A prodigal is one who deepens the vice of the soul;" cob. " A generous person gives freely based on reason; a stingy person holds back whatever is not needed; one who hoards what is required is greedy." Therefore, there are two virtues: generosity and frugality. ? . T. . There are two vices: extravagance and greed. . . 'T is thrift: two vices and avarice. But even though the prodigal, like the spendthrift, may be assigned positions of authority, there is still no fault in being frugal. Seneca says, greed is worse than in a ruler. However, as Jerome says in his epistolary book, "it is more blessed to give than to receive." "It is more blessed to give than to receive," taking the word of the Lord; "therefore, never ask, and rarely shall we receive" when we are asked. It's easy to despise someone who is often called to a meal and doesn't refuse. And shortly after, "I don't know" how it is that the one who asks for something to be given, when you have received, judges you to be of lesser worth, and in a surprising way, if you have despised the one asking, he honors you more. Among other things, it should not be overlooked that what is to be given must be done cheerfully and without reluctance. . . . Seneca, in his work On Benefits, says that you should give to anyone who asks, according to your ability. However, you should consider the worthiness of the person asking, taking into account their character, your relationship with them, and how your help might serve our common good. Moreover, even though, as Ambrose says, you should give to everyone who asks according to your ability, the beloved of dignity must still be regarded as a benefit, in which the character of the one to whom it is given, the spirit toward us, the companionship, and the shared life are to be observed, along with the moral benefits of philosophy. (Migne, clxxi. The benefits received beforehand. Even if one doesn't live among the perfect, but rather among those who merely appear virtuous, I think no one should be neglected, in whom there is some significance of doctrine. Let the virtue be evident. Therefore, Augustine says, "All men..." They are to be loved, as if by a certain sort of fate. "They are joined together," etc. Therefore, the greatness of generosity is a virtue that is much older than natural justice. It surpasses all things and is more accommodating than anything else.