Dialogues of Love

[vices] of those things more than one ought, and of not dispensing them accord-
ing to honesty and the order of reason; the moderat-
ion in loving such things with the appropriate dispensing of
them, is a virtuous and noble middle path, and is called liberality The virtue of being generous with one's wealth in a balanced, rational way..
The lack of love for these possessed things and the inappro-
priate dispensing of them is the other vicious extreme, con-
trary to avarice Greed or the hoarding of wealth., and is called prodigality Wastefulness or spending excessively.; so that the miser
as well as the spendthrift are vicious, following the extremes of the love of
useful things Things like money or tools that are used as a means to an end.. The liberal person is virtuous, who follows the mean of
them, and in this manner that I have told you, love and de-
sire are found in useful things, temperately and intempera-
tely. SO. This way that you have told me resonates with me; I would
understand how love is in delightful things Things sought for the immediate pleasure they bring, such as food, drink, or romance., which
seems more to our purpose. PHI. Just as in use-
ful things proper and real love is not found together with desi-
re, similarly in delightful things desire does not part from love;
because all delightful things that are lacking, until they
are entirely had, and one has a sufficiency of them, al-
ways as they are desired or craved, they are equally loved. The
drinker desires and loves wine before he drinks it, until
he is satisfied by it; the glutton desires and loves sweets be-
fore he eats them, until he is satisfied by them; and commonly
he who is thirsty, as long as he desires it, loves drinking; and
he who is hungry desires and loves food; and the
man similarly desires and loves the woman before he has
her, and likewise the woman the man. These things also have de-