The Types of Life

We often call the “life” of a person that upon which he is most intent and in which he finds the greatest delight. Of one man, we say that his life is art; of another,study; of another, travel, and so on. Now, some men are especially bent upon the contemplation of truth; others are givenwholeheartedly to external activity. Thus, a person’s life maybe described as contemplative or as active.

Just as the intellect is speculative or contemplative in knowing truth about things, and practical or active in its grasp of what one is to do, so life itself is suitably classified as the contemplative life and the active life.