Page:Henry Stephens Salt - A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays.pdf/33



is a remarkable and lamentable fact that the movement in favour of Food Reform ﬁnds but few supporters among the classes known as “æsthetic” and “artistic ;” among those, in short, who pride themselves on their so—called “good taste," and who might. therefore, have been especially looked to for favour and sympathy. For, setting aside for the present all considerations of morality and gentleness, I maintain that there are just as glaring faults of bad taste visible in our system of diet as in our dress, or furniture, or general household arrangements, all of which have been very severely and very properly criticised by the æsthetic school. How foolish and inconsistent it is to be vastly fastidious about the manner in which one's food is served up, and at the same time to be totally indifferent as regards the quality, from an aesthetic View, of the food itself! The highest art may be apparent in the decoration and arrangement of the table, but, if the food be gross in taste and smell, the result can hardly be gratifying to the truly aesthetic mind.