"When all else is removed, nothing but Metaphysics remains" is a ripoff from Aristotle's Metaphysics VII, and statements of this form are discussed in "Mixtures" by Richard Sharvy (1983. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 44: pp. 227-239), who says "much of this seems completely idle. For the schema 'When all else is removed nothing but ----- remains' will hold regardless of what we put in the blank." Of course, as Ned Markosian has pointed out, we can think of cases in which the removal of everything except something, x, entails the removal of x. For instance, if we were to remove everything except a chair, we would remove all of the chair's proper parts, which would entail the removal of the chair, in which case nothing would remain. Not to say statements of the form above can be false, just sometimes a bit misleading . . .
Another Aristotle Quote:
"Happiness then is co-extensive with this Contemplative Speculation, and in proportion as people have the act of Contemplation so far have they also the being happy, not incidentally, but in the way of Contemplative Speculation because it is in itself precious.
So Happiness must be a kind of Contemplative Speculation; but since it is Man we are speaking of he will need likewise External Prosperity, because his Nature is not by itself sufficient for Speculation, but there must be health of body, and nourishment, and tendance of all kinds." Aristotle, Ethics X, VIII, brought to my attention by Hud Hudson.