--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tis chiefly taste, or blunt, or gross, or…" description: "\"Tis chiefly taste, or blunt, or gross, or fine, Makes life insipid, bestial, or divine. Better be born with taste to little rent Than the dull monarch ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ec/john-armstrong-11802_blunt_tis-chiefly-taste-or-blunt-or-gross-or-f_1545097.jpg" --- # Tis chiefly taste, or blunt, or gross, or fine, Makes life… ![“Tis chiefly taste, or blunt, or gross, or fine, Makes life insipid, bestial, or divine. Better be born with taste to little rent Than the dull monarch of a continent; Without this bounty which the gods bestow, Can Fortune make one favorite happy? No.” quote by John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ec/john-armstrong-11802_blunt_tis-chiefly-taste-or-blunt-or-gross-or-f_1545097.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ec/john-armstrong-11802_blunt_tis-chiefly-taste-or-blunt-or-gross-or-f_1545097.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ec/john-armstrong-11802_blunt_tis-chiefly-taste-or-blunt-or-gross-or-f_1545097.jpg) > “Tis chiefly taste, or blunt, or gross, or fine, Makes life insipid, bestial, or divine. Better be born with taste to little rent Than the dull monarch of a continent; Without this bounty which the gods bestow, Can Fortune make one favorite happy? No.” [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Taste determines how life feels; refined taste elevates existence, while coarse taste degrades it. **In simple terms:** Taste shapes life's quality. Key Takeaway Cultivate refined taste. Themes taste quality refinement Mood contemplative reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal relationships - art criticism - culinary experiences Key Concepts aesthetics sensory perception Questions to Reflect On - How does your environment shape your taste? - Can taste be taught? A Different Perspective Taste is subjective and can be influenced by culture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Monarchs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monarchs/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [For wisest ends this universal Power Gave appetites, from whose quick impulse life Subsists, by which we only live, all life Insipid else, unactive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/for-wisest-ends-this-universal-power-gave-appetites-from-whose-quick/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [“Without an ever-present sense of death life is insipid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/without-an-ever-present-sense-of-death-life-is-insipid/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [It is certain that there is no other passion which does produce such contrary effects in so great a degree. But this may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/it-is-certain-that-there-is-no-other-passion-which-does-produce-such/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [My brother was born without taste or the desire to be professionally lit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/my-brother-was-born-without-taste-or-the-desire-to-be-professionally/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Men marry for fortune, and sometimes to please their fancy; but, much oftener than is suspected, they consider what the world will say of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/men-marry-for-fortune-and-sometimes-to-please-their-fancy-but-much/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Death is not earnest in the same way the eternal is. 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Water, when simple, is insipid, inodorous, colorless, and smooth; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/water-and-oil-simply-considered-are-capable-of-giving-some-pleasure/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Atheism can benefit no class of people; neither the unfortunate, whom it bereaves of hope, nor the prosperous, whose joys it renders insipid, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/atheism-can-benefit-no-class-of-people-neither-the-unfortunate-whom/) [François-René de Chateaubriand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/) ## More by John Armstrong > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Virtue and sense are one; and, trust me, still A faithless heart betrays the head unsound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/virtue-and-sense-are-one-and-trust-me-still-a-faithless-heart-betrays/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [He knows enough, the mariner, who knows Where lurk the shelves, and where the whirlpools boil, What signs portend the storm: to subtler minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/he-knows-enough-the-mariner-who-knows-where-lurk-the-shelves-and/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Tis not too late to-morrow to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/tis-not-too-late-to-morrow-to-be-brave/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [What Nature bids is good, is wise, and faultless we obey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/what-nature-bids-is-good-is-wise-and-faultless-we-obey/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [“But mostly what we think of as the 'meaning' of life concerns the style of the private autobiography we each write and which records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/but-mostly-what-we-think-of-as-the-meaning-of-life-concerns-the-style/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [You can't help people that don't want to be helped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/you-can-t-help-people-that-don-t-want-to-be-helped/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [The most beautiful form of compromise is forgiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/the-most-beautiful-form-of-compromise-is-forgiveness/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [We know great Nature's pow'r, Mother of things, whose vast unbounded sway From the deep centre all around extends Wide to the flaming barriers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/we-know-great-nature-s-pow-r-mother-of-things-whose-vast-unbounded/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Much had he read, Much more had he seen; he studied from the life, And in th' original perus'd mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/much-had-he-read-much-more-had-he-seen-he-studied-from-the-life-and/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Our greatest good, and what we least can spare, Is hope: the last of all our evils, fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/our-greatest-good-and-what-we-least-can-spare-is-hope-the-last-of-all/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Virtue, the strength and beauty of the soul, Is the best gift of Heaven: a happiness That even above the smiles and frowns of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/virtue-the-strength-and-beauty-of-the-soul-is-the-best-gift-of-heaven/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [The blood, the fountain whence the spirits flow The generous stream that waters every part, And motion, vigor, and warm life conveys To every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/the-blood-the-fountain-whence-the-spirits-flow-the-generous-stream/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [One’s relationship with money is lifelong, it colors one’s sense of identity, it shapes one’s attitude to other people, it connects and splits generations;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/one-s-relationship-with-money-is-lifelong-it-colors-one-s-sense-of/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [“Sincerity is only as good as what we are sincere about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/sincerity-is-only-as-good-as-what-we-are-sincere-about/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) [Explore all 58 John Armstrong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) ## More Blunt quotes > [Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. 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I come from a place of love, but I'm interested in being real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-mcmillan/i-m-a-blunt-person-not-mean-spirited-i-come-from-a-place-of-love-but/) [Tracy McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-mcmillan/) > [Emily and I have some funny scenes where we quarrel and it gets quite heated, the mother-daughter relationship. You know, film mothers and daughters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacki-weaver/emily-and-i-have-some-funny-scenes-where-we-quarrel-and-it-gets-quite/) [Jacki Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacki-weaver/) > [Rumour is a pipe Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures And of so easy and so plain a stop That the blunt monster with uncounted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/rumour-is-a-pipe-blown-by-surmises-jealousies-conjectures-and-of-so/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. 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