s important to draw attention to the fact that _liberalitas_
consists in making a good use of property, and not merely in
distributing it to others, as a confusion with the English word
'liberality' might lead us to believe. It is, as we said above,
therefore certain that a wise and prudent saving of money for
investment would be considered a course of conduct within the meaning
of the word _liberalitas_, especially if the enterprise in which the
money were invested were one which would benefit the community as
a whole. 'Modern industrial conditions demand that a man of wealth
should distribute a part of his goods indirectly--that is, by
investing them in productive and labour-employing enterprises.'[1]

[Footnote 1: Ryan, _The Alleged Socialism of the Church Fathers_, p.
20, and see Goyau, _Le Pape et la Question Sociale_, p. 79.]

The nature of the virtue of _liberalitas_ may be more clearly
understood by an explanation of the vices which stand opposed to it.
The first of these treated by Aquinas is avarice, which he defines as
'superfluus amor habendi divitias.' Avarice might be committed in
two ways--by harbouring an undue desire of acquiring wealth, or by
an undue reluctance to part with it--'primo autem superabundant
in retinendo ... secundo ad avaritiam pertinet superabundare in
accipiendo.'[1] These definitions are amplified in another part of the
same section. 'For in every action that is directed to the attainment
of some end goodness consists in the observance of a certain measure.
The means to the end must be commensurate with the end, as medicine
with health. But exterior goods have the character of things needful
to an end. Hence human goodness in the matter of these goods must
consist in the observance of a certain measure, as is done by a man
seeking to have exterior riches in so far as they are necessary to his
life according to his rank and condition. And therefore sin consists
in exceeding this measure and trying to acquire or retain riches
beyond the due limit; and this is the proper nature of avarice,
which is defined to be an immoderate love of having.'[2] 'Avarice may
involve immoderation regarding exterior things in two ways; in one way
immediately as to the receiving or keeping of them when one acquires
or keeps beyond the due amount; and in this respect it is directly a
sin against one's neighbour, because in exterior things one man cannot
have superabundance without another being in want, sin