DeGrazia quotes Aristotle in defining leisure as freedom from the necessity of labor (1962, p. 13). Leisure is the pursuit of activity for its own end. One is absorbed in leisure, not taking a break to be renewed for further work. Leisure is a state of mind in which focus gives rise to creativity, rather than to task completion. We direct our own activity in leisure, rather than reflect the whim and exigency of external forces.
In his far-ranging work, DeGrazia contrasts ancient Sparta and Athens. He describes how Sparta spent its leisure preparing for war, and in the process failed to survive when war could no longer mobilize its society to function in the ceaseless activity of combat. In contrast, Athens used its leisure for the education and refinement of its population, to benefit even further from leisure pursuits.