"There is a bastard kind of generosity, which, by being extended to all men, is as fatal to society, on one hand, as the want of true generosity is on the other. A lax manner of administering justice, falsely termed moderation, has a tendency both to dispirit public virtue, and promote the growth of public evils."
There used to be an appreciation for the kind of moral clarity that encouraged people to make the distinction between true generosity and the "bastard generosity" Thomas Paynedescribed in 1777. Query, whether "bastard generosity" is even properly definable as "generosity" and, if not, what purpose is being served by confusing it so? Who benefits by defining profligacy, waste, and moral decay as generosity?
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