Rest Well, Work Well: The Formula for Being Human

Reviewing Two Classics on the Link Between Work and Leisure

Nov 08, 2025

∙ Paid

"Eventually, all of my thought about manual labor was bound to be balanced by thought on leisure/rest. The vita activa (active life) and via contemplativa (contemplative life) belong together if we hope to be fully human, for our humanity cannot be reduced to work - despite the cultural and societal forces at work to make it so. And so, at the invitation of publishing industry veteran, author, and book reviewer Joel J. Miller (his Substack newsletter "Miller's Book Review" is very worth your time), I have written a review of my own covering two texts: Josef Pieper's "Leisure: The Basis of Culture" and A.G. Sertillanges's "The Intellectual Vocation." He has kindly allowed me to share what I wrote for him with you who subscribe to The Blue Scholar. Please enjoy!"

- Nate Marshall

Serendipity exists on a spectrum. Unlooked-for graces sometimes lap at our ankles, leaving foam trails of refreshment behind; other times, they break over our heads and pull us into a rip current of wonder as the undertow gloriously, shockingly alters our orientation to the world.

Such was the case when I accidentally read a pair of books. Reading them w…

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A guest post by

Nate Marshall

Apologist for manual labor. Plumber by trade. Postulant to the diaconate. Seminarian at Cranmer Theological House. Chasing turds and words.