Pagina 181 de 734

Now the states of excess and defect in regard of Wealth are

respectively Prodigality and Stinginess: the latter of these

terms we attach invariably to those who are over careful about

Wealth, but the former we apply sometimes with a complex notion;

that is to say, we give the name to those who fail of

self-control and spend money on the unrestrained gratification of

their passions; and this is why they are thought to be most base,

because they have many vices at once.

It must be noted, however, that this is not a strict and proper

use of the term, since its natural etymological meaning is to

denote him who has one particular evil, viz. the wasting his

substance: he is unsaved (as the term literally denotes) who is

wasting away by his own fault; and this he really may be said to

be; the destruction of his substance is thought to be a kind of

wasting of himself, since these things are the means of living.

Well, this is our acceptation of the term Prodigality.