Aristotle defined magnanimity or “great-mindedness” as a proper estimate of one’s merits: “The Great-minded man is then, as far as greatness is concerned, at the summit, but in respect of propriety he is in the mean, because he estimates himself at his real value (the other characters respectively are in excess and defect) . . . . Honour then and dishonour are specially the object-matter of the Great-minded man: and at such as is great, and given by good men, he will be pleased moderately as getting his own, or perhaps somewhat less for no honour can be quite adequate to perfect virtue: but still he will accept this because they have nothing higher to give him. But such as is given by ordinary people and on trifling grounds he will entirely despise, because these do not come up to his deserts: and dishonour likewise, because in his case there cannot be just ground for it.”

For Aristotle, “this virtue of Great-mindedness seems to be a kind of ornament of all the other virtues, in that it makes them better and cannot be without them; and for this reason it is a hard matter to be really and truly Great-minded; for it cannot be without thorough goodness and nobleness of character.”

Christians continued to use the word, but radically redefined it.

In a homily on 2 Corinthians 9, John Chrysostom wrote: “Do you see not how much others give to playersand harlots? Give at any rate the half to Christ, of what they give to dancers. As much as they give of ostentation to those upon the stage, so much at any rate give thou unto the hungry. For they indeed even clothethe persons of wantons with untold gold; but thou not even with a threadbare garment the flesh of Christ, and that though beholding it naked. What forgiveness does this deserve, yea, how great a punishment does it not deserve, when he indeed bestows so much upon her that ruins and shames him, but thou not the least thing on Him that saves you and makes you brighter? But as long as you spend it upon your belly and on drunkenness and dissipation , thou never thinkest ofpoverty: but when need is to relieve poverty, you are become poorer than any body. And when feeding parasites and flatterers, you are as joyous as though you had fountains to spend from ; but if thou chance to see a poor man, then the fearof poverty besets you. Therefore surely we shall in that day be condemned, both by ourselves and by others, both by those that have done well and those that have done amiss. For He will say to you, ‘Wherefore were you not thus magnanimous in things where it became you?”

Here, magnanimity is no longer a proper regard for one’s own honor, but generosity.