ripened as surely as one of Biot's or Arago's disciples can
foretell an eclipse?

The consequence then is that we must render to Caesar the things
which are Caesar's and proclaim man the great GOURMAND OF NATURE,
and not be surprised if the good Doctor does sometimes as Homer
did:--"Much zumeilen ichlafert der gute."

METHOD OF THE AUTHOR.

As yet we have treated the taste only from the physical point of
view, and in some anatomical details which none will regret, we
have remained pari passu with science. This does not however
conclude the task we have imposed on ourselves, for from its usual
attributes especially does this reparatory sense derive its
importance.

We have then arranged in analytical order the theories and facts
which compose the ensemble of this history, so that instruction
without fatigue will result from it.

Thus in the following chapters, we will often show how sensations
by repetition and reflection have perfected the organs and
extended the sphere of our powers. How the want of food, once a
mere instinct, has become a passion which has assumed a marked
ascendency of all that belongs to society

We will also say, how all sciences which have to do with the
composition of substances, have agreed to place in a separate
category all those appreciable to the taste; and how travellers