Be*nef"i*cence (&?;), n. [L. beneficentia, fr. beneficus: cf. F. bénéficence. See Benefice.] The practice of doing good; active goodness, kindness, or charity; bounty springing from purity and goodness.

And whose beneficence no charge exhausts.
Cowper.

Syn. -- See Benevolence.