Mishneh Torah, Human Dispositions 1:1 with Translations

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Each and every man possesses many character traits. Each trait is very different and distant from the others.¹Many commentaries assume that the Rambam is stating simply that there are many personality types, which he proceeds to describe: e.g., the angry man, the calm man, etc. They quote various sources in support of this viewpoint, among them Berachot 58a: "Whoever sees a multitude of Jews recites the blessing: 'Blessed is...the wise who knows the hidden secrets,' because just as their natures are not similar, neither are their faces."
However, by stating that the many character traits are possessed by "each and every man," it is possible that Rambam is implying more than that there are people with different traits. Though in Moreh Nevuchim (The Guide to the Perplexed) 2:40 the Rambam himself elaborates upon that idea, it can be said that here his intent is different. He is emphasizing the degree to which each individual's personality is a combination of different traits, which may be unrelated and even distant from each other. Anger, generosity, and modesty, for example, can be found together in the same person, much in the same way that tenants of all sorts - unrelated to each other - can be housed in a common building.
To illustrate these traits, the Rambam employs concrete examples of extreme personalities, so that the contrasts can be appreciated more easily.
One type of man is wrathful; he is constantly angry. [In contrast,] there is the calm individual who is never moved to anger,²Obviously, anger or passivity are not these individuals' only traits. Surely, they share the full spectrum of human emotions. However, in these individuals, these traits are most prominent.
See Halachah 2:3 for a further discussion of anger. or, if at all, he will be slightly angry, [perhaps once] during a period of several years.³or, if at all, he will be slightly angry, [perhaps once] during a period of several years.
There is the prideful man and the one who is exceptionally humble.⁴Chapter 2, Halachah 3, also deals at length with the contrasts between pride and humility. There is the man ruled by his appetites - he will never be satisfied from pursuing his desires,⁵Kohelet Rabbah 1:34 states: "No person will die having accomplished [even] half of what he desires." This statement is difficult to comprehend since there appear to be many successful individuals who achieve their desires. Nevertheless, their accomplishments do not necessitate that their desires will be satisfied. As the Midrash continues: "A person who possesses 100 silver pieces desires 200. One who possesses 200 desires 400."
Desire itself is never satisfied. Instead, it puts the person on a constantly moving treadmill, with ever-increasing aims. As soon as one reaches one goal, he instinctively begins the pursuit of another. and [conversely,] the very pure of heart, who does not desire even the little that the body needs.⁶This pair of contrasting personality types deal with a person's appetites which can be satisfied by sensual experience. For example, gluttony is stimulated and satisfied by taste. In contrast, the traits mentioned below - the desire for money or the lack of desire for it - do not involve the senses.
There is the greedy man, who cannot be satisfied⁷Literally, "whose soul is not satisfied." Perhaps the Rambam uses "soul," both here and with regard to the man ruled by his sensual appetites, because it is the desire that characterizes the man, not the performance of an action as such. A man may never indulge his passion for food, or actually amass money and yet, be gluttonous or greedy. Though, in practice, his ability to gratify his ambitions may be limited by external factors, the desires of his soul are, nonetheless, unlimited. with all the money in the world, as [Ecclesiastes 5:9] states: "A lover of money never has his fill of money."⁸Here, the Rambam describes an example where the desire for money becomes a goal in itself. In contrast, a man who gathers money so that he can buy things or achieve power is not interested in money per se. Although he may be faulted for different reasons, he is not greedy for money. On the other hand, for the "lover of money," money itself becomes his raison d'etre. [In contrast,] there is the man who puts a check on himself;⁹literally, he "cuts himself short." II Kings 19:26 employs a similar usage of the root ketzar: "And the inhabitants are broken, with shortened (i.e., weakened or useless) arms." he is satisfied with even a little, which is not enough for his needs, and he does not bother to pursue and attain what he lacks.¹⁰This refers to a lazy person, who will not bestir himself even for that which is necessary. In Chapter 2, Halachah 7, this type is described clearly as: "lazy and an idler." This is the description, too, in the Rambam's Introduction to Avot - Shemonah Perakim, Chapter 4.
There is [the miser,]¹¹In contrast to the "lover of money" mentioned above, the miser is not as bent on acquiring new wealth as much as hoarding the money and possessions he has.
who torments himself with hunger, gathering [his possessions] close to himself. - The terminology the Rambam uses emphasizes the miser's need to be close to his money and possessions. Similar, but not exactly correspondent, expressions are found in the Bible (Proverbs 13:11 and the Talmud (Bava Kama 80a). who torments himself with hunger, gathering [his possessions] close to himself. Whenever he spends a penny of his own, he does so with great pain. [Conversely,] there is [the spendthrift,] who consciously wastes his entire fortune.¹²Chullin 84b gives examples of such behavior: wearing linen clothing, using glass utensils, and hiring workers without supervising them.
All other traits follow the same pattern [of contrast]. For example: the overly elated and the depressed;¹³The Rambam is not referring to an average optimist and a pessimist. Rather, he describes personalities who do not have a grip on reality. onain is the term used for the bereaved who has not yet buried his dead. mehulal, the other extreme, is used by Jeremiah 51:7 to refer to a state of intoxication and delirious drunkenness. the stingy and the freehanded;¹⁴Our translation of shua is clearly evident from Hilchot Matnot Ani'im 7:11. It follows that chili represents the opposite extreme. (See also Ibn Ezra, Isaiah 32:5.)
The difference between this pair of traits and the miser-spendthrift pair mentioned above is that the latter refers to a person's conduct toward himself, while the former refers to his conduct with regard to others. The stingy man, unlike the miser, may spend money for his own needs, but is tightfisted when others are concerned. By the same token, a freehanded man need not necessarily indulge himself, though he is generous when giving charity. Though this may sound praiseworthy, when taken to extremes it can also prove dangerous, because a person may hurt himself in the process of giving excessively to another. (See Lechem Mishneh.) the cruel and the softhearted; the coward and the rash. and the like.¹⁵We find a longer treatment of personal characteristics in the Rambam's Shemonah Perakim, Chapter 4.

Trans. by Eliyahu Touger, Moznaim Publishing

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Mishneh Torah, trans. by Eliyahu Touger. Jerusalem, Moznaim Pub. c1986-c2007

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Each and every one of the sons of man has many innate tendencies which differ one from the other and which are extremely afar. There is one man of a feverish temperment, constantly vexed, and there is another man of a calm disposition, without angry moods whatever, and if he does show anger it is but one bit of anger in many years; one man is overmuch supercilious, and another man is extremely unobtrusive; one is sensual, whose being is never stilled by the pursuit of propensity, and one is so pure-hearted that he feels no craving even for the barest necessities of the body; one's being is so greedy that the world's money will not satisfy him, as the subject is spoken of: "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver" (Ecc. 5.10); and one's being is so restrained that he considers enough even part of the little which is insufficient for his need and he will not pursue to attain all needs; one suffers hunger in his effort of hoarding and does not eat a cent's worth of his own without great torture to himself, and another wastes his money with his own hand deliberately. And of such ways are all the rest of the tendencies, as the optimist and pessimist, miser and philanthropist, cruel and merciful, coward and stout-hearted and the like.

Simon Glazer, 1927

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Mishnah Torah, Yod ha-hazakah, trans. by Simon Glazer, 1927

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The numerous dispositions of men severally vary, and are often extremely opposed to each other; some are passionate, and in a state of perpetual irritation; there are others whose mind is composed, and who are rarely irritated, and if they happen to be irritated it will be very slight and at very long intervals. Again, there are men who are of a very haughty spirit, and others of a very humble mind; some given to voluptuousness, whose cravings are never satiated; and others of a very pure heart, so that they do not desire even those few things which the body indispensably requires. Again, there are grasping dispositions which no money in the world can satisfy, as it is said: He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, (Eccles. 5. 10); and others who limit their desires; and are contented even with so little as is barely sufficient for them, and are not in eager pursuit after all they require. Again there are some who rather starve themselves in order to hoard up wealth, and do not spend the least coin of their own without considerable pain; and others who wilfully waste all their property. And thus it is with all other dispositions; as for instance, the mirthful and the desponding; the miser and the liberal man; the cruel and the merciful; the faint-hearted and the bold-hearted; and the like dispositions.

Elias Soloweyczik; London, 1863

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Yad-Hachazakah, edited by Elias Soloweyczik; London, 1863

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All human beings are characterized by many traits which differ from each other profoundly. One man is hot-tempered, constantly angry; another is self-possessed and never angry, or only slightly and rarely so. One man is excessively proud; another is excessively meek. One man indulges in appetites without being sufficiently gratified; another is pure of heart and does not crave even the few essentials that the body requires. One man is so greedy that all the money in the world would not satisfy him, as it is written: "A lover of money will never be satisfied with money" (Ecclesiastes 5:9); another, contented with very little, curtails his desires and does not strive to obtain all that he really needs. One man starves himself while hoarding up wealth, and does not enjoy anything for which he has to pay the least amount; another recklessly squanders all he has. And so it is with all human dispositions, such as hilarity and gloom, niggardliness and generosity, cruelty and compassion, cowardice and courage.

Philip Birnbaum, 1967

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Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, edited by Philip Birnbaum, New York, 1967

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Each and every human being has many dispositions, and each one is both very different and very distant from any other: One person may have a violent temper, always angry; but another's mind is at ease and he is never angry, or if he does feel anger it is a soft anger once in several years. A person may be very haughty, but another has a very humble disposition. A person may have very strong desires, never satisfied; but another may have a very pure heart, not even desiring those few things that the body requires. A person may be very greedy, not satisfied by all the wealth in the world, as it states, "A lover of silver never has his fill of silver" (Ecclesiastes 5:9). But another may have modest desires, and is satisfied with the smallest thing even if it is not truly enough for him, and he will not exert himself to acquire what he needs. A person may torture himself with hunger and saves through this and does not eat from a farthing of his own, excepting in great duress. But another may consciously waste all of the money that is in his hand. And in these ways are the other dispositions - for example, the jolly [fellow] and the morose [one]; the stingy and the generous; the cruel and the merciful; the weak-hearted and the courageous, and similar to these.

Sefaria Community Translation

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Sefaria Community Translation

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Every human being is characterised by numerous moral dispositions which differ from each other and are exceedingly divergent. One man is choleric, always irascible; another sedate, never angry; or, if he should become angry, is only slightly and very rarely so. One man is haughty to excess; another humble in the extreme. One is a sensualist whose lusts are never sufficiently gratified; another is so pure in soul that he does not even long for the few things that our physical nature needs. One is so greedy that all the money in the world would not satisfy him, as it is said, "He who loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver". (Eccles. 5:9). Another so curbs his desires that he is contented with very little, even with that which is insufficient, and does not bestir himself to obtain that which he really needs. One will suffer extreme hunger for the sake of saving, and does not spend the smallest coin without a pang, while another deliberately and wantonly squanders all his property. In the same way, men differ in other traits. There are, for example, the hilarious and the melancholy, the stingy and the generous, the cruel and the merciful, the timid and the stout-hearted, and so forth.

Moses Hyamson, 1937-1949

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The Mishneh Torah by Maimonides. trans. by Moses Hyamson, 1937-1949

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German (1)

Der Mittelweg und der Gottesweg
Die Menschen haben verschiedene, zum Teil einander ganz entgegengesetzte Neigungen. Mancher ist auffahrend und hört nie auf zu zürnen, ein anderer dagegen ist gelassen, ohne Empfindsamkeit und zürnt er so währt es nicht lange, was aber auch nur selten, nach einer Reihe von Jahren geschieht. Dieser wiederum ist im hohen Grade hochmütig, dagegen Jener in eben demselben Maße demütig; der Eine ist wollüstig und ermüdet nicht, dem Gelüste nachzugehen, während der Andere reines Herzens ist, und ihn nicht einmal gelüstet nach dem wenigen, dem Körper unentbehrlichen Genüsse. Mancher ist voller Habsucht, welcher er nie zu genügen vermag, selbst mit allen Schätzen der Welt nicht, denn es heißt »wer Schätze liebt, bekommt Schätze nicht zur Genüge.« (Kohelet 5:9). Mancher dagegen hat ein zufriedenes Herz, lässt sich mit Wenigem genügen, und strebt nicht einmal nach der Befriedigung der notwendigen Bedürfnisse. Der Eine wieder peinigt sich durch Hunger, scharrt Alles zusammen, und nur mit Überwindung entschließt er sich, eine Pruta (kleine Münze) vom Ersparten zu vertun; dagegen verschwendet ein Anderer willkürlich und absichtlich sein Vermögen. Und so ist es auch mit den anderen Neigungen: Frohsinn und Trübsinn, Geiz und Freigebigkeit, Grausamkeit und Barmherzigkeit, Verzagtheit und Mut usw.

Leon Mandelstamm. St. Petersburg, 1851

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Jad Haghasakkah, trans. by L. Mandelstamm. St. Petersburg, 1851. Corrected and edited by Igor Itkin - German [de]

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Portuguese (1)

Publicado em 5784, Saymon Pires da Silva [pt]

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Publicado em 5784, Saymon Pires da Silva [pt]

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