--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not that food which entereth into the…" description: "\"“Not that food which entereth into the moth defileth a man, but the appetite with which it is eaten. It is neither the quality nor the quantity, but th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/henry-david-thoreau-20_appetite_not-that-food-which-entereth-into-the-mo_2271077.jpg" --- # Not that food which entereth into the moth defileth a man… ![“Not that food which entereth into the moth defileth a man, but the appetite with which it is eaten. It is neither the quality nor the quantity, but the devotion to sensual savors; when that which is eaten is not a viand to sustain our animal, or inspire our spiritual life, but food for the worms…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/henry-david-thoreau-20_appetite_not-that-food-which-entereth-into-the-mo_2271077.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/henry-david-thoreau-20_appetite_not-that-food-which-entereth-into-the-mo_2271077.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/henry-david-thoreau-20_appetite_not-that-food-which-entereth-into-the-mo_2271077.jpg) > ““Not that food which entereth into the moth defileth a man, but the appetite with which it is eaten. It is neither the quality nor the quantity, but the devotion to sensual savors; when that which is eaten is not a viand to sustain our animal, or inspire our spiritual life, but food for the worms that possess us.”” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True nourishment comes from the intention behind consumption, not the material itself; spiritual focus outweighs physical indulgence. **In simple terms:** Intention matters more than the food itself. Key Takeaway Cultivate mindful, purposeful eating. Themes spirituality mindfulness consumption Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - dietary choices - spiritual practice - self‑discipline - healthful living Key Concepts intentionality detachment inner growth Questions to Reflect On - What does “food” symbolize for you? - How can you align eating with values? A Different Perspective Physical cravings can dominate without self‑control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appetite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appetite/) [Dietary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dietary/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-life/) ## Related quotes > [“A puritan may go to his brown-bread crust with as gross an appetite as ever an alderman to his turtle. Not that food which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-puritan-may-go-to-his-brown-bread-crust-with-as-gross-an-appetite/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Whatsoever is the object of any man's Appetite or Desire; that is it which he for his part calleth Good: and the object of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/whatsoever-is-the-object-of-any-man-s-appetite-or-desire-that-is-it/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Any man today who returns from work, sinks into a chair, and calls for his pipe is a man with an appetite for danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/any-man-today-who-returns-from-work-sinks-into-a-chair-and-calls-for/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Like hunger, physical love is a necessity. But man's appetite for amour is never so regular or so sustained as his appetite for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/like-hunger-physical-love-is-a-necessity-but-man-s-appetite-for-amour/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Nature makes the locust with an appetite for crops; man would have made him with an appetite for sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/nature-makes-the-locust-with-an-appetite-for-crops-man-would-have/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The idea that freedom is merely the ability to act upon one's whims is surely very thin and hardly begins to capture the complexities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/the-idea-that-freedom-is-merely-the-ability-to-act-upon-one-s-whims/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [“We got teeth of a man but appetite of a lion!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinita-kinra/we-got-teeth-of-a-man-but-appetite-of-a-lion/) [Vinita Kinra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinita-kinra/) > [“The US dietary guidelines were the first ever to inform the general public about what should not be eaten. Specifically, we were told to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-noakes/the-us-dietary-guidelines-were-the-first-ever-to-inform-the-general/) [Tim Noakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-noakes/) > [“Vegans following a whole food diet had a borderline supply of vitamin B12. Folic acid, vitamin B6, TSH, iron metabolism, and the blood count…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joachim-schwarz/vegans-following-a-whole-food-diet-had-a-borderline-supply-of-vitamin/) Joachim Schwarz > [“We are failing our populations if we do not look at the association between obesity and diabetes and the introduction of those dietary guidelines,’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-noakes/we-are-failing-our-populations-if-we-do-not-look-at-the-association/) [Tim Noakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-noakes/) > [“Appetite is governed by our thoughts, but hunger is governed by the body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-g-martin/appetite-is-governed-by-our-thoughts-but-hunger-is-governed-by-the/) Clement G. Martin > [The key dietary messages are stunningly simple: Eat less, move more, eat more fruits and vegetables, and don't eat too much junk food. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-nestle/the-key-dietary-messages-are-stunningly-simple-eat-less-move-more-eat/) [Marion Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-nestle/) > [We need radical dietary improvement, and the earlier in life that change is made, the better. Just following a vegan diet or eating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-fuhrman/we-need-radical-dietary-improvement-and-the-earlier-in-life-that/) [Joel Fuhrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-fuhrman/) > [“Many women, worried about breast cancer, have adopted vegetarian diets in an attempt to reduce their risk. Unfortunately, it may be that these grain-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-cordain/many-women-worried-about-breast-cancer-have-adopted-vegetarian-diets/) Loren Cordain > [“THE MOST EFFECTIVE agent of dietary change is the adulated eater—the king who embraces whelks, the revolutionary hero with a passion for skewered hearts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/the-most-effective-agent-of-dietary-change-is-the-adulated-eater-the/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Appetite quotes > [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. Being possessed by a promise I live without options. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/i-could-not-limit-my-values-and-pursuits-to-what-makes-others/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [“if you cannot control your hunger and appetite, good luck managing your blood chemistry, metabolism, waistline, and, in the bigger picture, the prospect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/if-you-cannot-control-your-hunger-and-appetite-good-luck-managing/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [I don't think I've ever bench-pressed anything in my life. Until about two years ago I swam a mile almost every day. Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-antosca/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-bench-pressed-anything-in-my-life-until-about/) [Nick Antosca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-antosca/) > [If I had been an Italian I am sure that I should have been whole-heartedly with you from the start to finish in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/if-i-had-been-an-italian-i-am-sure-that-i-should-have-been-whole/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [It could be my British need for discipline that makes me admire the American appetite for freedom and passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/it-could-be-my-british-need-for-discipline-that-makes-me-admire-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [My curiosity and my appetite for evolving as an actor is one of the main components of me still working today in the business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-cattrall/my-curiosity-and-my-appetite-for-evolving-as-an-actor-is-one-of-the/) [Kim Cattrall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-cattrall/) > [I have a strong appetite and its not for food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-a-strong-appetite-and-its-not-for-food/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The plain fact is that education is itself a form of propaganda - a deliberate scheme to outfit the pupil, not with the capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-plain-fact-is-that-education-is-itself-a-form-of-propaganda-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You should also eat eggs. Not “one egg per week” or some such non-physiologic restriction. Eat what your body tells you to eat, since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davis/you-should-also-eat-eggs-not-one-egg-per-week-or-some-such-non/) [William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davis/) > [If your desires are not great, a little will seem much to you; for small appetite makes poverty equivalent to wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/if-your-desires-are-not-great-a-little-will-seem-much-to-you-for/) [Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/) > [When passions and appetites are stronger than the intellect, men are savages; when the intellect governs the passions, when the passions are servants, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/when-passions-and-appetites-are-stronger-than-the-intellect-men-are/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [A pivotal spiritual attribute is that of self-mastery-th e strength to place reason over appetite. Self-mastery builds a strong conscience. And your conscience determines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/a-pivotal-spiritual-attribute-is-that-of-self-mastery-th-e-strength/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [The commonest and cheapest sounds, as the barking of a dog, produce the same effect on fresh and healthy ears that the rarest music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-commonest-and-cheapest-sounds-as-the-barking-of-a-dog-produce-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 994 Appetite quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appetite/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Not that food which entereth into the moth defileth a man, but the appetite with which it is eaten. 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