The physiology of taste, or, Transcendental gastronomy : illustrated by anecdotes of distinguished artists and statesmen of both continents / by Brillat Savarin ; translated from the last Paris edition, by Fayette Robinson.

  • Brillat-Savarin, 1755-1826.
Date:
1854
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The physiology of taste, or, Transcendental gastronomy : illustrated by anecdotes of distinguished artists and statesmen of both continents / by Brillat Savarin ; translated from the last Paris edition, by Fayette Robinson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    By means of spectacles the eye, so to say, escapes from the decay of âge, winch troubles almost ail the other organs. The telescope has discovered stars hitherto unknown and inaccessible to ail our means of mensuration ; it has penetrated distances so great, that luminous and necessarily immense bodies présent themselves to us only like nebulous and almost imperceptible spots. The microscope has made us acquainted with the interior configuration of bodies ; or has shown the existence of a végétation and of plants, the existence of which we were ignorant of. Animais a hundred thousand times smaller than any visible with the naked eye hâve been discovered ; these animalculæ, however, move, feed and multiply, establishing the existence of organs of inconceivable tenuity. Mechanics hâve multiplied our power ; man has executed ail that he could conceive of, and has moved weights nature made inaccessible to his weakness. By means of arms and of the lever, man has con- quered ail nature ; he has subjected it to his pleasure, wants and caprices. He has overturned its surfaces, and a feeble biped has become king of création. Sight and touch, being thus increased in capacity, might belong to some species far superior to man ; or rather the human species would be far different had ail the senses been thus improved.