People have been philosophizing about the pursuit of a perfect life since the beginning of humanity, as we know it. One of the first philosophers was Aristotle. Aristotle believed that a perfect life consisted of four major elements: happiness, moral goodness, self-love and friendship, and intellectual goodness. His views have survived thousands of years and his thoughts are still regarded as some of the most solid philosophies.
Happiness is what Aristotle attributed to be the base of a perfect life. He said, "that which is always chosen for it's own sake and never for the sake of something else is without qualification a final end." (Aristotle 385) This thing, which he was talking about as the final end, was happiness. In his eyes it is what all humans long to achieve and always strive for. This happiness, which he is talking about, is more than just momentary bliss; in fact he said "one day, or indeed any brief period of felicity, does not make a man entirely and perfectly happy." (Aristotle 387) Happiness is something that has to be sustained and be an underlying feeling. Aristotle said that a having a virtuous soul will inevitably lead to happiness. (Aristotle 389) He concluded that "happiness, then, being an activity of the soul in conformity with perfect goodness, it follows that we must examine the nature of goodness." (Aristotle 389) .
Aristotle then said that "moral goodness is the child of habit, from which it has got its very name." (Aristotle 391) He is saying that moral goodness is based on habit. Following virtues manifests moral goodness. Aristotle found that there are two different kinds of virtues, intellectual and moral. (Aristotle 390) Aristotle said that moral goodness was the route of the middle ground he said that if one indulged too much or if one didn't indulge enough that he would be morally unsound. The virtue for which he attributed this was temperance.
