I know there’s a word for this, but despite my attempts at Google, I was unable to find the term I’m looking for. I know it’s not a paradox, which is a statement or concept that appears to make sense but in fact contradicts itself.

What I’m looking for is a word to describe something like this: Relaxation,

then, is not an end…it is for cause of activity.

This is from a text we are reading for class. Why does Sabbath exists in Jewish Religion? I’m looking for a term to succinctly describe the fact that the irony of the sentence or the antithesis of “relaxation” and “activity” conveys a truth: that by engaging in periods of idleness, one is able to collect one’s strength and engage in activity anew.

Note that antithesis refers to the use of two contradictory ideas in close proximity. According to the term I’m considering suggests that this antithesis is employed to impart wisdom in a poetic

manner.