--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I behold a fashionable table set out…" description: "\"When I behold a fashionable table set out in all its magnificence, I fancy that I see gouts and dropsies, fevers and lethargies, with other innumerable..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/joseph-addison-377_animal_when-i-behold-a-fashionable-table-set-ou_2975212.png" --- # When I behold a fashionable table set out in all its… ![“When I behold a fashionable table set out in all its magnificence, I fancy that I see gouts and dropsies, fevers and lethargies, with other innumerable distempers lying in ambuscade among the dishes. Nature delights in the most plain and simple diet. Every animal but man keeps to one dish. Herbs…” quote by Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/joseph-addison-377_animal_when-i-behold-a-fashionable-table-set-ou_2975212.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/joseph-addison-377_animal_when-i-behold-a-fashionable-table-set-ou_2975212.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/joseph-addison-377_animal_when-i-behold-a-fashionable-table-set-ou_2975212.png) > “When I behold a fashionable table set out in all its magnificence, I fancy that I see gouts and dropsies, fevers and lethargies, with other innumerable distempers lying in ambuscade among the dishes. Nature delights in the most plain and simple diet. Every animal but man keeps to one dish. Herbs are the food of this species, fish of that, and flesh of a third. Man falls upon everything that comes in his way; not the smallest fruit or excrescence of the earth, scarce a berry or a mushroom can escape him.” [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Addison critiques elaborate meals, suggesting they mask hidden ailments, while praising simple natural diets for health. **In simple terms:** Fancy meals hide health risks; simple foods are healthier. Key Takeaway Choose simple, natural foods for better health. Themes health diet simplicity nature excess Mood reflective critical Type observational advice When to use this quote - daily meals - grocery shopping - health checkups - food planning Key Concepts nutrition holistic health dietary choices Questions to Reflect On - How does your diet reflect your health priorities? - What hidden risks might your favorite foods have? A Different Perspective Simple diets may lack certain nutrients if not varied. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Diet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diet/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Fashionable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashionable/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) [Lethargy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lethargy/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Magnificence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magnificence/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [Nature delights in the most plain and simple diet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nature-delights-in-the-most-plain-and-simple-diet/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [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/) > [Mam was always saying we had a simple diet: tea and bread, bread and tea, a liquid and a solid, a balanced diet -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/mam-was-always-saying-we-had-a-simple-diet-tea-and-bread-bread-and/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [I learned from my two years' experience that it would cost incredibly little trouble to obtain one's necessary food; that a man may use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-learned-from-my-two-years-experience-that-it-would-cost-incredibly/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Simple diet is best: for many dishes bring many diseases, and rich sauces are worse than even heaping several meats upon each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/simple-diet-is-best-for-many-dishes-bring-many-diseases-and-rich/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [Old age doth in sharp pains abound; We are belabored by the gout, Our blindness is a dark profound, Our deafness each one laughs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/old-age-doth-in-sharp-pains-abound-we-are-belabored-by-the-gout-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For humble individuals like myself, there is one poor comfort, which is this, viz. that gout, unlike any other disease, kills more rich men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/for-humble-individuals-like-myself-there-is-one-poor-comfort-which-is/) [Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/) > [“The gout is a complaint as arises from too much ease and comfort. If ever you're attacked with the gout, sir, jist you marry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-gout-is-a-complaint-as-arises-from-too-much-ease-and-comfort-if/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I can cure the gout or stone in some, sooner than Divinity, Pride, or Avarice in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/i-can-cure-the-gout-or-stone-in-some-sooner-than-divinity-pride-or/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Just as old age is creeping on space, And clouds come o'er the sunset of our day, They kindly leave us, though not quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/just-as-old-age-is-creeping-on-space-and-clouds-come-o-er-the-sunset/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“Gout Every single year, thousands upon thousands of people are diagnosed with, and suffer from a condition known as gout. Gout is basically a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haley/gout-every-single-year-thousands-upon-thousands-of-people-are/) James Haley > [People wish their enemies dead - but I do not; I say give them the gout, give them the stone!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/people-wish-their-enemies-dead-but-i-do-not-i-say-give-them-the-gout/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) > [As the gout seems privileged to attack the bodies of the wealthy, so ennui seems to exert a similar prerogative over their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/as-the-gout-seems-privileged-to-attack-the-bodies-of-the-wealthy-so/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [I confidently affirm that the greater part of those who are supposed to have died of gout, have died of the medicine rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/i-confidently-affirm-that-the-greater-part-of-those-who-are-supposed/) [Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/) > [The simplest way to look at all these associations, between obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and Alzheimer's (not to mention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-taubes/the-simplest-way-to-look-at-all-these-associations-between-obesity/) [Gary Taubes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-taubes/) ## More by Joseph Addison > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There is nothing touches our imagination so much as a beautiful woman in a plain dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-nothing-touches-our-imagination-so-much-as-a-beautiful-woman/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [We are always doing something for posterity, but I would fain see posterity do something for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/we-are-always-doing-something-for-posterity-but-i-would-fain-see/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Female Virtues are of a Domestick turn. The Family is the proper Province for Private Women to Shine in. If they must be showing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/female-virtues-are-of-a-domestick-turn-the-family-is-the-proper/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [As addictions go, reading is among the cleanest, easiest to feed, happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/as-addictions-go-reading-is-among-the-cleanest-easiest-to-feed/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [When love once pleads admission to our hearts, In spite of all the virtue we can boast, The woman that deliberates is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/when-love-once-pleads-admission-to-our-hearts-in-spite-of-all-the/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Many actions calculated to procure fame are not conducive to ultimate happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/many-actions-calculated-to-procure-fame-are-not-conducive-to-ultimate/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [T is liberty crowns Britannia's Isle, And makes her barren rocks and her bleak mountains smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/t-is-liberty-crowns-britannia-s-isle-and-makes-her-barren-rocks-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/reading-is-a-basic-tool-in-the-living-of-a-good-life/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The moral perfections of the Deity, the more attentively, we consider, the more perfectly still shall we know them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-moral-perfections-of-the-deity-the-more-attentively-we-consider/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The utmost we can hope for in this world is contentment; if we aim at anything higher, we shall meet with nothing but grief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-utmost-we-can-hope-for-in-this-world-is-contentment-if-we-aim-at/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Courage that grows from constitution often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it; courage which arises from a sense of duty acts;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/courage-that-grows-from-constitution-often-forsakes-a-man-when-he-has/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The most skillful flattery is to let a person talk on, and be a listener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-most-skillful-flattery-is-to-let-a-person-talk-on-and-be-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) [Explore all 620 Joseph Addison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I behold a fashionable table set out in all its magnificence, I fancy that I see gouts and dropsies, fevers and lethargies, with other innumerable distempers lying in ambuscade among the dishes. Nature delights in the most plain and simple diet. Every animal but man keeps to one dish. Herbs are the food of this species, fish of that, and flesh of a third. Man falls upon everything that comes in his way; not the smallest fruit or excrescence of the earth, scarce a berry or a mushroom can escape him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Addison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/when-i-behold-a-fashionable-table-set-out-in-all-its-magnificence-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/when-i-behold-a-fashionable-table-set-out-in-all-its-magnificence-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/joseph-addison-377_animal_when-i-behold-a-fashionable-table-set-ou_2975212.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/joseph-addison-377_animal_when-i-behold-a-fashionable-table-set-ou_2975212.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/joseph-addison-377_animal_when-i-behold-a-fashionable-table-set-ou_2975212.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I behold a fashionable table set out in all its magnificence, I fancy that I see gouts and dropsies…” — Joseph Addison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joseph Addison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I behold a fashionable table...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/when-i-behold-a-fashionable-table-set-out-in-all-its-magnificence-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/when-i-behold-a-fashionable-table-set-out-in-all-its-magnificence-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```