EN
The article deals with the notion of generosite, an important concept of the 17th century moral philosophy, as well as with the metamorphosis of the meaning of this passion and/or virtue. The starting point of this metamorphosis is generosite as a virtue of the late medieval and early modern French noble man, whereas the end point is generosite as the passion/virtue of Descartes' (equally) rational beings. The paper analyses this phenomenon in Moliere's play Don Juan, and in Descartes' and Spinoza's texts