Among the numerous faults of those who pass their lives recklessly and without due reflexion, my good friend Liberalis, I should say that there is hardly any one so hurtful to society as this, that we neither know how to bestow or how to receive a benefit. It follows from this that benefits are badly invested, and become bad debts: in these cases it is too late to complain of their not being returned, for they were thrown away when we bestowed them. Nor need we wonder that while the greatest vices are common, none is more common than ingratitude: for this I see is brought about by various causes. The first of these is, that we do not choose worthy persons upon whom to bestow our bounty, but although when we are about to lend money we first make a careful enquiry into the means and habits of life of our debtor, and avoid sowing seed in a worn-out or unfruitful soil, yet without any discrimination we scatter our benefits at random rather than bestow them. It is hard to say whether it is more dishonourable for the receiver to disown a benefit, or for the giver to demand a return of it: for a benefit is a loan, the repayment of which depends merely upon the good feeling of the debtor. To misuse a benefit like a spendthrift is most shameful, because we do not need our wealth but only our intention to set us free from the obligation of it; for a benefit is repaid by being acknowledged...

• We started tracking this book on December 5, 2017.
• This book was $0.00 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 4 times in the past 2,328 days.
• The current price of this book is $1.99 last checked one month ago.
• This book is at its lowest price in the past 90 days.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is FREE.
• The lowest price to date was FREE last reached on August 13, 2019.
• This book has been FREE 2 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $1.99 last reached on August 17, 2019.
• This book has been $1.99 2 times since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its highest price since we started tracking it.

• Politics & Social Sciences

• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• File Size: 290 KB