「質樸」(Rustic) 一詞，至少自古拉丁文化以來，貫穿整個歐洲史的大部分。今天我們傾向於將此字等同於媚俗、低俗品味（尤其是在建築、或室內擺設之類的方面）或低廉的消遣。但在過去，其實是近兩千年以來，「質樸性」(rusticity) 的處境卻一向有所不同：從維吉爾一直到浪漫主義，「質樸性」以不同的面貌策反既存的社會現實。而基督宗教則匯整之，賦予一宗教意義的扭轉，包含隱修士的形象和方濟格會士的理念。事實上「質樸性」的「高貴」形式，一直存活至今，尤其是存活在藝術和哲學之中。藝術上，例如里爾克的詩集《祈禱書》 (Stundenbuch)，哲學而言，海德格的「初始主義」的哲學思維正是二十世紀質樸思想返魂的明顯寫照。

The theme of the Rustic pervades much of European history since, at least, Latin antiquity. We tend nowadays to identify it with kitsch, bad taste (especially in the domain of architecture and interior decoration) and cheap entertainment. But in the past, in fact during almost twothousand years, "rusticity" has held a different status: since Virgil and until romanticism it has been, in different guises a counter-program to existing social reality. As such Christianity accommodated it, by giving it a religious twist, among other through the figure of the hermit and the ideal of the Franciscan Monks. This "noble" form of the "Rustic" has in fact survived until today, notably in art (for example in Rilke's Stundenbuch) and in philosophy : Heidegger's philosophical "primitivism" is its most eminent XXth century reincarnation.