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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.