“Happiness is a virtuous activity of the soul.”

But what is happiness? If we consider what the function of man is, we find that happiness is a virtuous activity of the soul.

—Aristotle

One of the longest excerpts shared on the Heroic website is from The Nicomachean Ethics, a collection of Aristotle’s lectures either edited by or dedicated to Aristotle’s son Nichomachus. The work concerns the eternal question of how best to live one’s life.

Click here to jump to the section on the relevant page of Heroic where this excerpt is shared and explained.

In short: want eudaimonic happiness? Live with virtue. Which leads us to my favorite word. Areté. As we’ve discussed, although the word areté directly translates as “virtue” or “excellence” it has a deeper meaning—something closer to expressing the best version of yourself.

When? Right now. And now. And now. And now.

For how long? Well, that leads us to the paragraph that immediately follows the one referenced above. Aristotle says:

“There is a further qualification [for attaining eudaimonic happiness]: in a complete lifetime. One swallow does not make a summer; neither does one day. Similarly, neither can one day, or a brief space of time, make a man blessed and happy.”

Translation: Eudaimonic happiness doesn’t happen in a day or a week or a month. We’re never exonerated. It takes a lifetime of excellence to actualize.

You can buy the Jonathan Barnes-edited Penguin Classics edition of The Nichomachean Ethics at Amazon.

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