What is the difference between boredom and idleness?

Quote 1: “Boredom, however, includes as a component the "need for intense mental activity," a need that in the bored person cannot find gratification by generating its own impulse but seeks "incitements" from the outside world as a means of decreasing tension" (Spacks 4).

Quote 2: “The Idler, who habituates himself to be satisfied with what he can most easily obtain, not only escapes labours which are often fruitless, but sometimes succeeds better than those who despise all that is within their reach, and think every thing more valuable as it is harder to be acquired”(Idler 1).

             Prior to reading Spacks’ first chapter in Boredom and the excerpt from Johnson’s Idler I assumed that being bored and being idle were similar and rooted within one another: being idle—not doing anything—causing one to be bored. When looking at how the readings for this week framed boredom and idleness, clear differences between the two can be seen. After reading both quotes I got the sense that if someone is idle they are genuinely, perfectly content with their lack of mental stimulation whereas if someone is bored they are longing to be engaged. Also I gathered that idleness is a mental state that is internalized for want of being idle while boredom occurs externally from lack of stimulation from the outside world.

In the first quote on boredom, Spacks states that that boredom requires “intense mental activity” calling it “a need” that must be fulfilled to “decrease tension.” From the urgency of language used, you can feel the sense the intense wanting one who is bored has to regain cognitive activity: it is necessary for said person to become externally engaged in order to maintain a feeling of internal wellbeing. In the second quote Johnson uses words such as “habituates” and “satisfied” to show how being idle is a mental state that the Idler has become accustomed to and has internalized as a guide for subsequent actions (or inaction) that will provide contentment. I found it interesting that Johnson describes the Idler as someone who may actually be out witting the intelligent by just getting by cognitively since their energy does not have to be put forth for tasks that may prove to be menial or unimportant. I could easily see people experiencing boredom as those who may take part in actions they are not passionate about just in order to regain mental stimulus and may ultimately be wasting their time with something that with repetition could make them bored once again.