§4.2#1δόξαι δʼ ἂν ἀκόλουθον εἶναι καὶ περὶ μεγαλοπρεπείας διελθεῖν.
It would seem to follow next to discuss magnificence as well.
δοκεῖ γὰρ καὶ αὐτὴ περὶ χρήματά τις ἀρετὴ εἶναι· οὐχ ὥσπερ δʼ ἡ ἐλευθεριότης διατείνει περὶ πάσας τὰς ἐν χρήμασι πράξεις, ἀλλὰ περὶ τὰς δαπανηρὰς μόνον· ἐν τούτοις δʼ ὑπερέχει τῆς ἐλευθεριότητος μεγέθει.
For this too seems to be a virtue concerned with wealth; but unlike liberality, it does not extend to all actions concerning wealth, but only to those involving expenditure; and in these, it exceeds liberality in scale.
καθάπερ γὰρ τοὔνομα αὐτὸ ὑποσημαίνει, ἐν μεγέθει πρέπουσα δαπάνη ἐστίν.
For as its very name suggests, it is a suitable expenditure in a grand scale.
τὸ δὲ μέγεθος πρός τι· οὐ γὰρ τὸ αὐτὸ δαπάνημα τριηράρχῳ καὶ ἀρχιθεωρῷ.
But this scale is relative; for the same expenditure is not suitable for a trierarch and for a leader of a sacred embassy.
τὸ πρέπον δὴ πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ ἐν ᾧ καὶ περὶ ὅ.
What is suitable, then, is relative to the person himself, the circumstances in which he acts, and the object of his action.
ὁ δʼ ἐν μικροῖς ἢ ἐν μετρίοις κατʼ ἀξίαν δαπανῶν οὐ λέγεται μεγαλοπρεπής, οἷον τὸ
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πολλάκι δόσκον ἀλήτῃ,
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ἀλλʼ ὁ ἐν μεγάλοις οὕτως.
But he who spends in small or moderate matters according to what is fitting is not called magnificent—as in the line "often did I give to a beggar"—but rather he who does so in great matters.
ὁ μὲν γὰρ μεγαλοπρεπὴς ἐλευθέριος, ὁ δʼ ἐλευθέριος οὐδὲν μᾶλλον μεγαλοπρεπής.
For the magnificent person is liberal, but the liberal person is not necessarily magnificent.
τῆς τοιαύτης δʼ ἕξεως ἡ μὲν ἔλλειψις μικροπρέπεια καλεῖται, ἡ δʼ ὑπερβολὴ βαναυσία καὶ ἀπειροκαλία καὶ ὅσαι τοιαῦται, οὐχ ὑπερβάλλουσαι τῷ μεγέθει περὶ ἃ δεῖ, ἀλλʼ ἐν οἷς οὐ δεῖ καὶ ὡς οὐ δεῖ λαμπρυνόμεναι· ὕστερον δʼ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐροῦμεν.
Of such a state, the deficiency is called meanness, and the excess is called vulgarity, tastelessness, and the like, which do not exceed in the greatness of expenditure on what is proper, but make a show of display in the wrong circumstances and in the wrong way; we shall speak about these later.
ὁ δὲ μεγαλοπρεπὴς ἐπιστήμονι ἔοικεν· τὸ πρέπον γὰρ δύναται θεωρῆσαι καὶ δαπανῆσαι μεγάλα ἐμμελῶς.
But the magnificent person is like an expert; for he is able to observe what is suitable and to spend large sums in good taste.
ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν ἀρχῇ εἴπομεν, ἡ ἕξις ταῖς ἐνεργείαις ὁρίζεται, καὶ ὧν ἐστίν.
For as we said at the beginning, a state is defined by its activities and by the things with which it is concerned.
αἱ δὴ τοῦ μεγαλοπρεποῦς δαπάναι μεγάλαι καὶ πρέπουσαι.
The expenditures of the magnificent person, therefore, are great and suitable.
τοιαῦτα δὴ καὶ τὰ ἔργα· οὕτω γὰρ ἔσται μέγα δαπάνημα καὶ πρέπον τῷ ἔργῳ.
Such, then, are also his works; for in this way there will be a great expenditure that is suitable to the work.
ὥστε τὸ μὲν ἔργον τῆς δαπάνης ἄξιον δεῖ εἶναι, τὴν δὲ δαπάνην τοῦ ἔργου, ἢ καὶ ὑπερβάλλειν.
So the work must be worthy of the expenditure, and the expenditure worthy of the work, or even exceed it.
δαπανήσει δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα ὁ μεγαλοπρεπὴς τοῦ καλοῦ ἕνεκα· κοινὸν γὰρ τοῦτο ταῖς ἀρεταῖς.
And the magnificent person will spend such sums for the sake of the noble; for this is common to all the virtues.
καὶ ἔτι ἡδέως καὶ προετικῶς· ἡ γὰρ ἀκριβολογία μικροπρεπές.
Moreover, he will do so gladly and open-handedly; for meticulous calculation is a mark of meanness.
καὶ πῶς κάλλιστον καὶ πρεπωδέστατον, σκέψαιτʼ ἂν μᾶλλον ἢ πόσου καὶ πῶς ἐλαχίστου.
And he will consider how the work can be finest and most suitable, rather than how much it will cost or how it can be done for the least.
ἀναγκαῖον δὴ καὶ ἐλευθέριον τὸν μεγαλοπρεπῆ εἶναι.
Thus the magnificent person must also be liberal.
καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἐλευθέριος δαπανήσει ἃ δεῖ καὶ ὡς δεῖ· ἐν τούτοις δὲ τὸ μέγα τοῦ μεγαλοπρεποῦς, οἷον μέγεθος, περὶ ταῦτα τῆς ἐλευθεριότητος οὔσης, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἴσης δαπάνης τὸ ἔργον ποιήσει μεγαλοπρεπέστερον.
For the liberal person will also spend what he ought and as he ought; but in these, it is the 'great' of the magnificent person—that is, the scale—where magnificence is concerned, even though liberality is about the same things, and from an equal expenditure the magnificent person will make the work more magnificent.
οὐ γὰρ ἡ αὐτὴ ἀρετὴ κτήματος καὶ ἔργου.
For the virtue of a possession is not the same as that of a work.
κτῆμα μὲν γὰρ τὸ πλείστου ἄξιον τιμιώτατον, οἷον χρυσός, ἔργον δὲ τὸ μέγα καὶ καλόν (τοῦ γὰρ τοιούτου ἡ θεωρία θαυμαστή, τὸ δὲ μεγαλοπρεπὲς θαυμαστόν)· καὶ ἔστιν ἔργου ἀρετή, μεγαλοπρέπεια, ἐν μεγέθει.
For a possession is most prized if it is worth the most, such as gold, but a work is prized if it is great and noble (for the contemplation of such a work is wonderful, and magnificence is wonderful); and magnificence is the virtue of a work on a grand scale.
ἔστι δὲ τῶν δαπανημάτων οἷα λέγομεν τὰ τίμια, οἷον τὰ περὶ θεούς, ἀναθήματα καὶ κατασκευαὶ καὶ θυσίαι, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ πᾶν τὸ δαιμόνιον, καὶ ὅσα πρὸς τὸ κοινὸν εὐφιλοτίμητά ἐστιν, οἷον εἴ που χορηγεῖν οἴονται δεῖν λαμπρῶς ἢ τριηραρχεῖν ἢ καὶ ἑστιᾶν τὴν πόλιν.
Among expenditures, those we call prized are, for instance, those concerning the gods—votive offerings, buildings, and sacrifices—and likewise concerning everything divine, and all those that are public-spirited, such as when people think they ought to provide a chorus splendidly, or equip a trireme, or host a feast for the city.
ἐν ἅπασι δʼ ὥσπερ εἴρηται, καὶ πρὸς τὸν πράττοντα ἀναφέρεται τὸ τίς ὢν καὶ τίνων ὑπαρχόντων· ἄξια γὰρ δεῖ τούτων εἶναι, καὶ μὴ μόνον τῷ ἔργῳ ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ ποιοῦντι πρέπειν.
But in all these cases, as has been said, reference is also made to the agent—who he is and what resources he has; for the expenditures must be worthy of these, and be suitable not only to the work but also to the doer.