国外浪漫爱情故事:跪求关于generosity(慷慨）的英语文章

Generosity, in the proper sense of the word, is the virtue which elevates us to do actions worthy of our kind, nature, descent, or origin, which is heavenly. It is in this sense that it is fitting for all human beings to be generous and to act according to the nobility of human nature, so as not to degenerate or to lower ourselves to the level of beasts. Thus, generosity, which ordinarily signifies the virtue of true nobility, is taken generally for the virtue by which we bring ourselves to do actions that are at once elevated and reasonable, for without the light of reason and justice, this elevation is only ambition and vanity.

The generous person must respect without exception certain maxims suited for regulating his conduct. First, he must avoid all that is base and all that he would not want known by everyone. Second, when he is in doubt as to what to do, he will opt for that course of action which appears to be the furthest from any hint of sin or injustice. And just as he must act boldly when his comfort and even his life are at risk, so he must act cautiously when there is a danger of committing a crime, and in this alone he must be timid. Third, he will be suspicious of all that is most pleasurable and that the least man from the dregs of society, if he were in his place, would do as well as him. Fourth, he will be suspicious of all courses of action and all outcomes in which self-interest dominates, and he must act on the basis of a nobler principle. However, as false glory is often veiled by a mask that makes it resemble generosity, it is necessary to consider that every action that goes against justice, that is, against the public good, and in a word, all that is contrary to virtue, is not glorious. All actions that would be justly blamed and even punished if they did not succeed, and that chance alone can justify, are never glorious, whatever success they might have. On the contrary, every action that will be praised even if luck does not favor it, is worthy of the person who seeks true glory.