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John Ruskin
A 19th-century French aristocrat, military man, and writer whose book Journey around My Bedroom Alain de Botton analyzes in his final essay. De Maistre did travel extensively for his military duties, but de Botton thinks that Journey around My Bedroom offers a promising alternative theory of travel: it is more about a traveling mind-set than a destination, and people can undertake satisfying voyages in the places they already call home. While “traveling” in his pajamas, de Maistre notes the beauty of his furniture before losing focus and daydreaming about his dog and crush; de Botton follows his lead by taking a walk around his neighborhood of Hammersmith with an eye to the area’s beauty rather than simply an immediate practical goal (usually, getting to the train station).
Xavier de Maistre Quotes in The Art of Travel
The The Art of Travel quotes below are all either spoken by Xavier de Maistre or refer to Xavier de Maistre. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9
Quotes
“The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room”—Pascal, Pensées, 136.
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Explanation and Analysis:
In an autobiographical note written in 1801 in South America, Alexander von Humboldt specified his motive for traveling: “I was spurred on by an uncertain longing to be transported from a boring daily life to a marvellous world.” It was this very dichotomy, “boring daily life” pitted against “marvellous world,” that de Maistre had tried to redraw with greater subtlety.
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Xavier de Maistre Quotes in The Art of Travel
The The Art of Travel quotes below are all either spoken by Xavier de Maistre or refer to Xavier de Maistre. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9
Quotes
“The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room”—Pascal, Pensées, 136.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In an autobiographical note written in 1801 in South America, Alexander von Humboldt specified his motive for traveling: “I was spurred on by an uncertain longing to be transported from a boring daily life to a marvellous world.” It was this very dichotomy, “boring daily life” pitted against “marvellous world,” that de Maistre had tried to redraw with greater subtlety.
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