Gourmandism is an act of judgment, by which we prefer things which have a pleasant taste to those which lack this quality.

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.

In the centre of a spacious table rose a pastry as large as a church, flanked on the north by a quarter of cold veal, on the south by an enormous ham, on the east by a monumental pile of butter, and on the west by an enormous dish of artichokes, with a hot sauce.

The dyspeptic and the drunkard do not know how to eat or drink.

The pleasures of the table belong to all times and ages, to every country and every day; they go hand in hand with all our other pleasures, outlast them, and remain to console us for their loss.

Hearing, which, by the motion of the air, informs us of the motion of sounding or vibrating bodies.

The table is the only place where we do not get weary during the first hour.