Full Idea
Happiness is not amusement; it would be paradoxical if we toiled and suffered all our lives just for that.
Gist of Idea
If happiness were mere amusement it wouldn't be worth a lifetime's effort
Source
Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics [c.334 BCE], 1176b28)
Book Reference
Aristotle: 'Ethics (Nicomachean)', ed/tr. ThomsonJ A K/TredennickH [Penguin 1976], p.327
A Reaction
So he promotes contemplation above pleasure as the end of life, on the grounds that it motivates a lifetime of effort? Maybe happiness is quite easy for a lot of people.