Well then, we said that it is not a State merely; because, if it were,
it might belong to one who slept all his life through and merely
vegetated, or to one who fell into very great calamities: and so, if
these possibilities displease us and we would rather put it into the
rank of some kind of Working (as was also said before), and Workings
are of different kinds (some being necessary and choice-worthy with a
view to other things, while others are so in themselves), it is plain
we must rank Happiness among those choice-worthy for their own sakes
and not among those which are so with a view to something further:
because Happiness has no lack of anything but is self-sufficient.
By choice-worthy in themselves are meant those from which nothing is
sought beyond the act of Working: and of this kind are thought to be
the actions according to Virtue, because doing what is noble and
excellent is one of those things which are choice-worthy for their own
sake alone.
And again, such amusements as are pleasant; because people do not
choose them with any further purpose: in fact they receive more harm
than profit from them, neglecting their persons and their property.
Still the common run of those who are judged happy take refuge in such
pastimes, which is the reason why they who have varied talent in such
are highly esteemed among despots; because they make themselves
pleasant in those things which these aim at, and these accordingly want
such men.
Now these things are thought to be appurtenances of Happiness because
men in power spend their leisure herein: yet, it may be, we cannot
argue from the example of such men: because there is neither Virtue nor
Intellect necessarily involved in having power, and yet these are the
only sources of good Workings: nor does it follow that because these
men, never having tasted pure and generous Pleasure, take refuge in
bodily ones, we are therefore to believe them to be more choice-worthy:
for children too believe that those things are most excellent which are
precious in their eyes.
We may well believe that as children and men have different ideas as to
what is precious so too have the bad and the good: therefore, as we
have many times said, those things are really precious and pleasant
which seem so to the good man: and as to each individual that Working
is most choice-worthy which is in accordance with his own state to the
good man that is so which is in accordance with Virtue.