“I have somewhere met with the epitaph of a charitable man, which has very much pleased me. I cannot recollect the words, but the sense of it is to this purpose; What I spent I lost; what I possessed is left to others; what I gave away remains with me.”

— Joseph Addison

No. 177 (22 September 1711)
The Spectator (1711–1714)

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Joseph Addison 226

politician, writer and playwright 1672–1719

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No. 177 (22 September 1711).
The Spectator (1711–1714)
Context: I have somewhere met with the epitaph of a charitable man, which has very much pleased me. I cannot recollect the words, but the sense of it is to this purpose; What I spent I lost; what I possessed is left to others; what I gave away remains with me.

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