Anti-Wage-Slavery, Pro-Freedom Quotation Of The Week 197

Leisure is a receptive attitude of mind-- a contemplative attitude, and it is not only the occasion but also the capacity for steeping oneself in the whole of creation. ... Leisure is not the attitude of mind of those who intervene, but of those who are open to everything. Not of those who grab and grab hold, but of those who leave the reins loose, and who are free and easy themselves. ...Leisure stands opposed to the exclusive ideal of work qua social function. A break in one's work, whether of an hour, a day, or a week, is still part of the world of work. It is a link in the chain of utilitarian functions. The pause is made for the sake of work and in order to work. ...Because wholeness is what man [sic] strives for, the power to achieve leisure is one of the fundamental powers of the human soul. ...in leisure the truly human values are saved and preserved. ...Aristotle says of leisure, "A man [sic] will live thus, not to the extent that he is a man, but to the extent that a divine principle dwells within him.”
Josef Pieper

Leisure, The Basis Of Culture