In Pieper's Leisure - The Basis of Culture, he defines leisure as a time where no activity is to take place: a time to let things go in order to find inner peace and a time for stillness to understand and accept reality. He feels that leisure is only possible when one is in harmony not only with them selves, but also with the spirit. He says that leisure is opposed to considering work as a social function. Going further, he states that even though one may get a break from work to regain strength, he does not feel that we are truly in a state of leisure. .
Pieper felt that there were three characteristics that defined laziness: "an outwardly directed, active power; an aimless readiness to suffer pain; an untiring insertion into the rationalized program of useful social organizations" (Pieper 27). However, those characteristics were opposed by the High Middle Ages: "it was precisely lack of leisure, an inability to be at leisure, that went together with idleness; that the restlessness of work-for-work's sake arose from nothing other then idleness" (Pieper 27). If you take a moment to reflect on the writings, it is easy to see what Piper is referring to if you base it on today's children. Children who have no structure and left to their own devices during the summer end up either laying around watching television all day (being lazy), or getting mixed up with the wrong group of kids and getting into trouble (aimless/restlessness). .
Piper's values are not only based on his on contemplation, but that which he has taken from the Greek's. Pieper argues that proletarians are bound to the "working-process" and that by being bound to this "process," their whole life is consumed and therefore, must be satisfying. In ancient times, the reason people worked long and hard were because there were no modern conveniences, therefore, they had very little leisure time. People worked hard to provide for ones family; not necessarily for advancement.