t to nothing
more. Do not expect of him, at his age, imitative and theatrical
music. It would be better if he did not even sing words. If he wished
to sing them, I should try to invent songs especially for him, such as
would interest him, as simple as his own ideas.

The Sense of Taste.

Of our different sensations, those of taste generally affect us most.
We are more interested in judging correctly of substances that are to
form part of our own bodies than of those which merely surround us. We
are indifferent to a thousand things, as objects of touch, of hearing,
or of sight; but there is almost nothing to which our sense of taste is
indifferent. Besides, the action of this sense is entirely physical
and material. Imagination and imitation often give a tinge of moral
character to the impressions of all the other senses; but to this it
appeals least of all, if at all. Generally, also, persons of
passionate and really sensitive temperament, easily moved by the other
senses, are rather indifferent in regard to this. This very fact,
which seems in some measure to degrade the sense of taste, and to make
excess in its indulgence more contemptible, leads me, however, to
conclude that the surest way to influence children is by means of their
appetite. Gluttony, as a motive, is far better than vanity; for
gluttony is a natural appetite depending directly on the senses, and
vanity is the result of opinion, is subject to human caprice and to
abuse of all kinds. Gluttony is the passion of childhood, and cannot
hold its own against any other; it disappears on the slightest occasion.

Believe me, the child will only too soon leave off thinking of his
appetite; for when his heart is occupied, his palate will give him
little concern. When he is a man, a thousand impulsive feelings will
divert his mind from gluttony to vanity; for this last passion alone
takes advantage of all others, and ends by absorbing them all. I have
sometimes watched closely those who are especially fond of dainties;
who, as soon as they awoke, were thinking of what they should eat
during the day, and could describe a dinner with more minuteness than
Polybius uses in describing a battle; and I have always found that
these supposed men were nothing but children forty years old, without
any force or steadiness of character. Gluttony is the vice of men who
have no stamina. The soul of a gourmand has its seat in his palate
alone; formed only for e