There is no man who desires as passionately as a Russian. If we could imprison a Russian desire beneath a fortress, that fortress would explode.

His diplomatic responsibilities were few and he became a well-loved fixture in aristocratic circles converting some of his friends to Roman Catholicism and writing his most influential works on political philosophy.

Joseph-Marie comte de Maistre (French pronunciation: ​[də mɛstʁ] 1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher writer lawyer and diplomat. Maistre a key figure of the Counter-Enlightenment saw monarchy both as a divinely sanctioned institution and as the only stable form of government. He called for the restoration of the House of Bourbon to the throne of France and argued that the Pope should have ultimate authority in temporal matters.