FLAVOURS. 211 



partakes of it with the greatest repugnance, and only as a 

 medicine. Oysters, which are so generally esteemed in our 

 country, are to some persons disagreeable and nauseous; 

 and truffles, the delight of the gourmand, are rejected by the 

 uninitiated on account of their flavour and their perfume. It 

 is the same with almost all alimentary substances ; they are 

 eagerly sought after by some, and despised or abhorred by 

 others. Let us remember the proverb, and not dispute in 

 regard to tastes; each is suited to its own country, and goodly 

 numbers acclimatize themselves, to the great advantage of 

 peoples, among whom at first they seem exceedingly strange. 

 Man should control his taste, and habituate it to all whole- 

 some aliment; this neither excludes choice, nor blunts the 

 delicacy of the sense; and while we resist its seductions, we 

 should give timely heed to its instincts and its counsels, for 

 they are often invaluable. 



Among the substances which we taste, there are few which 

 address themselves solely to that sense, and not at the same 

 time to the sense of smell. This mingling together in the 

 same substance of flavours and odours, and the simultaneous 

 action of the senses which perceive them, has induced some 

 authors to consider them as forming but one. They are, 

 notwithstanding, quite distinct in their seat and in their 

 function; the mixed sensation resulting from the union of 

 their impressions differs entirely from that which they cause 

 singly; we may say that the sense of smell is the necessary 

 complement of taste, for the latter is reduced to very trifling 

 importance when it acts alone. 



However much flavours may vary, they are all referable to 

 a very few types, to the mixtures and shades of which we 

 are quite indifferent when they do not offend us. The taste 

 solely judges whether a substance is salt or sweet, acid or 

 astringent, and so forth; but when our food does not awaken 

 any other sensations, we are tempted, in spite of its flavour, to 

 pronounce it insipid; vanilla cream and coffee cream, or ices 

 with rum or with maraschino, do not differ in taste when the 

 nostrils are closed. If, instead of olive-oil and wine-vinegar, 

 bleached oil and acetic acid diluted with water be used to 

 , season a salad, we shall have the sensation of taste without 



