LIBERALITÀ. – The proper balance by which a person is disposed to spend or give away what he possesses, without going to excess through prodigality and without showing himself miserly through avarice, constitutes l. as a natural and Christian virtue. In this sense it is distinguished from justice, inasmuch as in l. what is given is not owed on any other grounds; from mercy, because l. is not considered in relation to the needs of one’s neighbor; from gratitude, inasmuch as l. disregards benefits previously received; magnificence (v.), which shines through its abundance in great external works. It is an eminently social virtue, directed toward making men rightly detached from riches. Even a direct and deliberate violation of l. never constitutes a mortal sin (except where extrinsic circumstances constitute grave guilt for other reasons); indeed, very often it is not even a venial sin, but only an imperfection.
The virtue of l. donation (v.); indeed, according to the Italian Civil Code, the latter always presupposes it (art. 769), and it is also recognized as a motive in the so-called remuneratory donation (art. 770), although such a donation is not revocable like one that is wholly liberal (art. 805). The Italian Code also admits l. as an autonomous act, distinct from liberal donation (art. 809).
Every donation, including a remuneratory one, constitutes a true act of l.; nevertheless, l. can exist, and in fact does exist, without it whenever a person is disposed to spend his own means in accordance with the requirements of the social status to which he belongs. It is therefore mistaken to conceive of l. as a virtue consisting in donations or gifts; rather, it consists
in the disposition of the mind to wish to spend according to the right use of reason.