--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How seldom we notice rooftops; how easily…" description: "\"“How seldom we notice rooftops; how easily our eyes are drawn to the more flamboyant attractions of a Roman temple or Renaissance church.”\" — Alain de ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/alain-de-botton-221_rooftops_how-seldom-we-notice-rooftops-how-easily_3188272.jpg" --- # How seldom we notice rooftops; how easily our eyes are… ![“How seldom we notice rooftops; how easily our eyes are drawn to the more flamboyant attractions of a Roman temple or Renaissance church.” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/alain-de-botton-221_rooftops_how-seldom-we-notice-rooftops-how-easily_3188272.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/alain-de-botton-221_rooftops_how-seldom-we-notice-rooftops-how-easily_3188272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/alain-de-botton-221_rooftops_how-seldom-we-notice-rooftops-how-easily_3188272.jpg) > ““How seldom we notice rooftops; how easily our eyes are drawn to the more flamboyant attractions of a Roman temple or Renaissance church.”” [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often overlook ordinary rooftops, focusing instead on grand, decorative structures. **In simple terms:** We ignore everyday details for flashy ones. Key Takeaway Notice and appreciate the mundane. Themes aesthetic observation culture Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - city walks - design education - photography - mindful observation Key Concepts visual perception architectural theory Questions to Reflect On - What everyday details have you ignored recently? - How can you train yourself to notice the ordinary? A Different Perspective Focusing on the spectacular can cause us to miss subtle beauty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flamboyant Attractions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flamboyant-attractions-5870760/) [Notice Rooftops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notice-rooftops-5870758/) [Renaissance Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/renaissance-church-5870761/) [Rooftops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooftops/) [Rooftops Easily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooftops-easily-5870759/) [Ur Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ur-eyes/) ## Related quotes > [Look, we are human, we make mistakes. I will gladly shout from the rooftops that I am not perfect. Nor will I ever be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-agron/look-we-are-human-we-make-mistakes-i-will-gladly-shout-from-the/) [Dianna Agron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-agron/) > [“Before them is the most beautiful city she has ever seen, has ever imagined. 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The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“The Anxiety of Sunday afternoon: your unlived lives and infinite possibility pressing upon the constraints of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-anxiety-of-sunday-afternoon-your-unlived-lives-and-infinite/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Those who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/those-who-divorce-aren-t-necessarily-the-most-unhappy-just-those/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Insofar as we appreciate order, it is when we perceive it as being accompanied by complexity, when we feel that a variety of elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/insofar-as-we-appreciate-order-it-is-when-we-perceive-it-as-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I like the values associated with a medical family - common sense, being practical but also thoughtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-like-the-values-associated-with-a-medical-family-common-sense-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Anyone who urgently needs us deserves, in the true book of love, to be our friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/anyone-who-urgently-needs-us-deserves-in-the-true-book-of-love-to-be/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We can then recognize that we invented religions to serve two central needs which continue to this day and which secular society has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-can-then-recognize-that-we-invented-religions-to-serve-two-central/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Half the ingratitude and complacency in the world down to how slowly and imperceptibly most good and bad things unfold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/half-the-ingratitude-and-complacency-in-the-world-down-to-how-slowly/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-is-perhaps-when-our-lives-are-at-their-most-problematic-that-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Does what is praised becomes better? Does an emerald become worse if it isn't praised? And what a gold, ivory, a flower or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/does-what-is-praised-becomes-better-does-an-emerald-become-worse-if/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/reputation-matters-so-much-only-because-people-so-seldom-think-for/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) [Explore all 850 Alain de Botton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## More Rooftops quotes > [Look, we are human, we make mistakes. I will gladly shout from the rooftops that I am not perfect. Nor will I ever be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-agron/look-we-are-human-we-make-mistakes-i-will-gladly-shout-from-the/) [Dianna Agron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-agron/) > [Something will be there when the flood recedes. We know that. 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His footsteps led between trade-marked houses, two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sillitoe/walking-the-streets-on-winter-nights-kept-him-warm-despite-the-cold/) [Alan Sillitoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sillitoe/) > [Riches, prestige, everything can be lost. But the happiness in your heart can only be dimmed; it will always be there as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/riches-prestige-everything-can-be-lost-but-the-happiness-in-your/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [I knew everything in the forest. I had a secret home tree, where I pretty much lived. I also liked rooftops and streetlamps. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bas-rutten/i-knew-everything-in-the-forest-i-had-a-secret-home-tree-where-i/) [Bas Rutten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bas-rutten/) > [I started when I was 15 years old. And at that time, I was not thinking about changing the world, I was doing graffiti…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jr/i-started-when-i-was-15-years-old-and-at-that-time-i-was-not-thinking/) [JR](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jr/) > [I miss that time. The cities back then, just after the forests died, were full of wonders, and you'd stumble on them--these princes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-that-time-the-cities-back-then-just-after-the-forests-died/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I swear, guys in groups are capable of the stupidest things." "Like war," Kellan says, heaping napkins and ketchup packets onto her tray. 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