The torrent of centuries rolling over the human race, has continually brought new perfections, the cause of which, ever active though unseen, is found in the demands made by our senses, which always in their turns demand to be occupied.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that the progression of humanity is driven by sensory demands that evolve over time.
Brillat-Savarin highlights the continuous evolution of human perfection influenced by the changing demands of our senses. He implies that as society progresses through time, these sensory needs shape developments that are often invisible yet fundamental to our growth.
In practice
In a lecture on human development, one might reference this quote to illustrate the impact of evolving needs on societal progress.
It has been shown as proof positive that carefully prepared chocolate is as healthful a food as it is pleasant; that it is nourishing and easily digested... that it is above all helpful to people who must do a great deal of mental work.
The limits of pleasure are as yet neither known nor fixed, and that we have no idea what degree of bodily bliss we are capable of attaining.
Place a substantial meal before a tired man and he will eat with effort and be little better for it at first. Give him a glass of wine or brandy, and immediately he feels better: you see him come to life again before you.
Gourmandism is an act of judgment, by which we prefer things which have a pleasant taste to those which lack this quality.
In the hands of an able cook, fish can become an inexhaustible source of perpetual delight.
You first parents of the human race...who ruined yourself for an apple, what might you have done for a truffled turkey?
We fill our lives with all sorts of things that make it easier for us to get along in the world: wheelchairs, crutches, grabber sticks, hearing aids, canes, guide dogs, modified vehicles, ramps, as well as other kinds of services and supports. Disability does not necessarily mean dependence on other people.
Not everybody is comfortable with the idea that politics is a guilty addiction. But it is.
If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well. It were done quickly.
Society is held together by our need; we bind it together with legend, myth, coercion, fearing that without it we will be hurled into that void, within which, like the earth before the Word was spoken, the foundations of society are hidden.
Self-discovery is above all the realization that we are alone: it is the opening of an impalpable, transparent wall - that of our consciousness - between the world and ourselves.
To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.