we have never seen a nation hate or despise a generous person but rather they loved and glorified him. rather they loved his offspring and glorified his people because of him. we have never found them hating a miser for exceeding the limit of generosity to extravagance nor despising him. rather we found them learning his virtues and studying his good qualities and even adding to him rare acts of kindness that he did not do and attributing to him strange acts of generosity that he did not attain. therefore they claimed that praise in this world is doubled just as good deeds are doubled in the hereafter. yes and they even added to him every stray praise and every favor whose owner is unknown. then we found these people in their own right for the miser in the opposite of this characteristic and in opposition to this doctrine. we found them hating him once and despising him another time.
ولم نر الأمة أبغضت جوادا قط ولا حقرته، بل أحبته وأعظمته. بل أحبت عقبه، وأعظمت من أجله رهطه. ولا وجدناهم أبغضوا جوادا، لمجاوزته حد الجود الى السرف، ولا حقرته، بل وجدناهم يتعلمون مناقبه ٤ ، ويدارسون محاسنه، وحتى أضافوا إليه من نوادر الجميل ما لم يفعله، ونحلوه ٥ من غرائب الكرم ما لم يكن يبلغه. ولذلك زعموا أن الثناء في الدنيا يضاعف، كما تضاعف الحسنات في الآخرة. نعم وحتى أضافوا إليه كل مديح شارد ٦ ، وكل معروف مجهول الصاحب. ثم وجدنا هؤلاء بأعيانهم للبخيل على ضد هذه الصفة، وعلى خلاف هذا المذهب. وجدناهم يبغضونه مرة، ويحقرونه مرة،