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Now if Happiness is a Working in the way of Excellence of course

that Excellence must be the highest, that is to say, the

Excellence of the best Principle. Whether then this best

Principle is Intellect or some other which is thought naturally

to rule and to lead and to conceive of noble and divine things,

whether being in its own nature divine or the most divine of all

our internal Principles, the Working of this in accordance with

its own proper Excellence must be the perfect Happiness.

That it is Contemplative has been already stated: and this would

seem to be consistent with what we said before and with truth:

for, in the first place, this Working is of the highest kind,

since the Intellect is the highest of our internal Principles and

the subjects with which it is conversant the highest of all which

fall within the range of our knowledge.

Next, it is also most Continuous: for we are better able to

contemplate than to do anything else whatever, continuously.