6 Quotes by Xavier de Maistre

What a splendid piece of furniture an armchair is, of utmost importance and usefulness to a contemplative man. During those long winter evenings, it is often sweet and always advisable to stretch out luxuriously in one, far from the din of crowds. A good fire, a few books, some quills - what excellent antidotes to boredom!

The ephemeral spectator of an eternal spectacle, man raises his eyes a moment to the sky, then shuts them forever; yet during that brief moment granted him, from every point of the sky, from every limit of the universe, a consoling beam is cast from each world and meets his gaze to tell him that there is indeed a connection between infinity and him, and that he is part of eternity.

Mi biblioteca, ya que es preciso decíroslo, se compone de novelas... sí, de novelas... y de algunos poetas escogidos.Como si no tuviese bastante con mis propios males, comparto aún voluntariamente los de mil personajes imaginarios, y los siento tan vivamente como los míos.

Imagination, realm of enchantment!- which the most beneficent of beings bestowed upon man to console him for reality- I must quit you now.

Ephemeral spectator of an eternal spectacle, man raises for a second his eyes to Heaven, and closes them for ever; but, during that rapid second that is granted to him, from all the quarters of Heaven, and from the outer limits of the Universe, a consoling ray darts from each world and meets his eyes, to announce to him that some connection exists between him and infinity, and that even he is linked to eternity.

After all, is there any person so unhappy, so abandoned, that he doesn’t have a little den into which he can withdraw and hide away from everyone? Nothing more elaborate is needed for the journey.