I know there's a word for this, but despite my attempts on 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 term to describe something like the following:
Relaxation, then, is not an end...it is for the sake of activity.
This is from a text we're reading for class. The author talks about the Sabbath in the 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 by itself just refers to the use of two contradictory ideas in close proximity. The term I'm thinking of suggests that this antithesis is employed to impart wisdom in a poetic manner.