西方文化中休閒的理念乃根植於田園牧歌文學類型的詩意想像之中，此一理念啟迪了自古希臘以來的文學創作詩風與美學思想。田園詩歌本是歐洲美學思想中的一個相當重要的文類典範，但在西方卻常因為熟悉，卻反而忽略其在西方文化中長遠的影響，以及其具體的意象。田園牧歌中的牧人，居住在阿爾卡迪（Arcadie）與諸神相近相親，其所傳遞的是青春、美麗、男女歡愛的迷人形像。這種獨特的表象與中國古代神仙的年長、修煉的隱士形象形成對比。
相較於《達孚尼與克羅伊》（Daphnis et Chloé）以及《阿絲特蕾》（L’Astrée）田園牧歌所隱含的休閒理念，田園風格的小說《保爾和薇吉》（Paul et Virginie）所顯示的是另類不同的思維；古代田園牧歌中的異教風味不再是美感愉悅的來源了，聖皮耶的博那丁在其敘事故事中，所宣示的是一種道德的情操，一種浪漫主義的觀點，表達出基督徒超越社會、非性別之理想的觀點。

The Western idealised vision of leisure is rooted in the pastoral genre, which has inspired poetry and aesthetics since the ancient Greeks. So familiar are the stereotypes of this genre that one tends to underestimate their lasting influence on the Western culture and its body image. Living in Arcadia, in close relations with divinities, the shepherds convey the attractive image of youth, beauty and sexual love.
The specificity of these representations appear by contrast with the Chinese images of the Immortals, who look like old and studious hermits.
Compared to Daphnis and Chloe and L’Astrée, Paul et Virginie offers
an other revealing contrast : whereas the pagan pastoral is no more than
a source of aesthetic pleasure, the story told by Bernardin de Saint Pierre claims to be a moral one, a Romantic version of the supra social and anti sexual Christian ideal.