IN TWO CLASSIC ESSAYS, written in 1947 and published together in English translation under title Leisure, Basis of Culture, (1) German Roman Catholic philosopher Josef Pieper argues that source of human dignity is found in leisure, sphere of life free from work. He warns against recent philosophic and social tendencies that would reduce all human affairs to punctuated only with occasional necessary periods of rest or recreation. He claims that very survival of Western civilization depends upon an explicit and public restoration of respect for realm of human endeavor transcending notion of utility. Grounding his argument in what he sees as venerable and self-consistent tradition of philosophy and theology--epitomized in works of Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas Aquinas, and undermined in key parts by modern philosophers such as Rene Descartes, Francis Bacon, and Immanuel Kant--Pieper understands his position to be harmonious with that of Catholic Church's social magisterium, whose famous efforts to defend dignity of labor he interprets as demanding not so much exaltation of as such, but rather an extension of leisure to working classes. Though Pieper's has generally not received attention it merits, it has succeeded in deeply impressing numerous readers over years, includingT. S. Eliot, (2) C. S. Lewis, (3) and contemporary political and cultural minds such as Gilbert Meilaender, (4) Roger Scruton, (5) Ralph McInerny, (6) Roger Kimball, (7) James V. Schall, (8) and Thomas Hibbs. (9) Given Pieper's credibility among so many who share his concern for application of classical Christian intellectual patrimony to challenges of our day, it is interesting to consider one such prominent voice that, at least initially, does not appear to support Pieper's thesis. In 1981, Blessed John Paul II published encyclical letter Laborem Exercens. (10) In this writing, beginning from prior magisterial teachings on labor, John Paul seeks to stress more strongly than before centrality of not only to the modern 'social question,' but to good of human life as such. He describes as not only related to but even constitutive of man's vocation, dignity, and imaging of God in world, and defines so as to encompass seemingly all intellectual activities, which Pieper emphatically insists upon classifying as leisure and not work. In developing spirituality of work, John Paul goes so far as to call Jesus Christ a man of work and his Gospel the gospel of work, and seems to suggest that Christianity nullifies distinction between servile and liberal arts, whose recovery Pieper considers necessary condition for preservation of human freedom and flourishing (LE, Preface, nos. 1-3, 24-27; Leisure, II, IV). Can John Paul's interpretation of Christian wisdom on labor be squared with Pieper's reading of this same heritage? Or is former in effect refutation of latter? This paper will seek to answer this question through more detailed analysis of claims made by each author, considered in light of philosophic and theological tradition in which each sought to ground his thought. Pieper on Leisure and Threat of Total Work To grasp Pieper's case in defense of leisure and against progress of what he calls total work--a mode of existence in which overvaluation of leads to nearly complete neglect or suppression of leisure and goods it secures--we must first grasp precisely what he means by leisure and by work. Though in modern context leisure emerges as realm that must be preserved from imperious claims of Pieper draws his understanding of these terms from classical and medieval philosophy, which distinguishes between [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] or otium--time spent on matters of intrinsic worth--and negative concept [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] or negotium, signifying lack or deprivation of such leisure. …