--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With a palate as unrefined as mine I…" description: "\"“With a palate as unrefined as mine I can’t taste any difference between this French food and what we had at that sleazy bar I got into trouble for inv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/soseki-natsume-9685_picking-and-choosing_with-a-palate-as-unrefined-as-mine-i-can_718914.png" --- # With a palate as unrefined as mine I can’t taste any… ![“With a palate as unrefined as mine I can’t taste any difference between this French food and what we had at that sleazy bar I got into trouble for inviting you to. To someone like me, they taste equally good. I know you disdain me for that. But the truth is, I take pride in that very fact, and I…” quote by Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/soseki-natsume-9685_picking-and-choosing_with-a-palate-as-unrefined-as-mine-i-can_718914.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/soseki-natsume-9685_picking-and-choosing_with-a-palate-as-unrefined-as-mine-i-can_718914.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/soseki-natsume-9685_picking-and-choosing_with-a-palate-as-unrefined-as-mine-i-can_718914.png) > ““With a palate as unrefined as mine I can’t taste any difference between this French food and what we had at that sleazy bar I got into trouble for inviting you to. To someone like me, they taste equally good. I know you disdain me for that. But the truth is, I take pride in that very fact, and I disdain you for disdaining me. I wonder if you take my point. Think about it in this regard: Which of us is constrained and which of us is free? Which is happy and which feels his hands are tied? Which is tranquil and which one wavers? As I see it, you’re always unsteady on your legs. You can’t find your courage. You’ll go to any length to avoid what displeases you, and you gallop after whatever you want. And why is that? There is no why; it’s because you’re free to. You enjoy the luxury of picking and choosing because you have the latitude.”” [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator claims equal taste for refined and crude food, using it to argue that freedom lies in embracing all experiences, while the other is constrained by taste. **In simple terms:** Freedom is embracing all, not judging. Key Takeaway Embrace all experiences for true freedom. Themes freedom identity taste class conformity Mood reflective philosophical Type literary dialogue When to use this quote - dining experiences - social gatherings - personal authenticity Key Concepts existentialism social critique Questions to Reflect On - Do you equate taste with freedom? - Can true freedom exist without preference? A Different Perspective The argument assumes taste equals freedom, ignoring cultural context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disdain Disdaining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disdain-disdaining-5654963/) [Like Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-taste-645119/) [Picking and choosing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picking-and-choosing/) [Regard Constrained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard-constrained-5654961/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/) [Taste Equally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste-equally-5654962/) ## Related quotes > [“It's dangerous being free, but most come to like the taste o' it,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/it-s-dangerous-being-free-but-most-come-to-like-the-taste-o-it/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it's served up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-often-claim-to-hunger-for-truth-but-seldom-like-the-taste-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I reach for my bag, pulling out gum, but he quickly moves to me, sliding his hands up my neck to cup my face.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-lauren/i-reach-for-my-bag-pulling-out-gum-but-he-quickly-moves-to-me-sliding/) [Christina Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-lauren/) > [I like you, I have no taste, but I like you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-like-you-i-have-no-taste-but-i-like-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Running a start-up is like eating glass. You just start to like the taste of your own blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-parker/running-a-start-up-is-like-eating-glass-you-just-start-to-like-the/) [Sean Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-parker/) > [The feeling I have when Im with you is just like the taste of water, its unexplainable..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/the-feeling-i-have-when-im-with-you-is-just-like-the-taste-of-water/) [Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/) > [“Dear brother," Number Two replied, "I can eat shit, I just don't like the taste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/dear-brother-number-two-replied-i-can-eat-shit-i-just-don-t-like-the/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [It's like I have a loaded gun in my mouth and I like the taste of metal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-downey-jr/it-s-like-i-have-a-loaded-gun-in-my-mouth-and-i-like-the-taste-of/) [Robert Downey, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-downey-jr/) > [I don't mind bees and think we are all the better for having them around. I like the taste of honey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-don-t-mind-bees-and-think-we-are-all-the-better-for-having-them/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [“Perhaps, writing is like the taste of honey sucked from flowers in a garden, each tasting differently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anu-lal/perhaps-writing-is-like-the-taste-of-honey-sucked-from-flowers-in-a/) [Anu Lal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anu-lal/) > [“It was easy to find things she would like. Our taste was the same, it had been from the first. It would be impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/it-was-easy-to-find-things-she-would-like-our-taste-was-the-same-it/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [Now, I'm a mixer. I can't help it. It's my nature. I like men. I like the taste of their boots, the smell of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/now-i-m-a-mixer-i-can-t-help-it-it-s-my-nature-i-like-men-i-like-the/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [I like to taste her sugar that sweet and low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/i-like-to-taste-her-sugar-that-sweet-and-low/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [“The principles of storytelling do not change. Going home. Coming of age. Sin and redemption. The hero. The journey, The power of love. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-dee/the-principles-of-storytelling-do-not-change-going-home-coming-of-age/) [Chris Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-dee/) > [She throw it at me like I'm just one strike away. Sometimes life is hard to swallow, but she like to taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/she-throw-it-at-me-like-i-m-just-one-strike-away-sometimes-life-is/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) ## More by Sōseki Natsume > [“In fact, there is no such thing as character, something fixed and final. The real thing is something that novelists don’t know how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/in-fact-there-is-no-such-thing-as-character-something-fixed-and-final/) [Soseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“I would guess that he thought and thought for at least ten years before he came up with a stupendous idea, that glory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/i-would-guess-that-he-thought-and-thought-for-at-least-ten-years/) [Soseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [I am a cat. As yet I have no name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/i-am-a-cat-as-yet-i-have-no-name/) [Soseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“Under the sun the couple presented smiles to the world. Under the moon, they were lost in thought: and so they had quietly passed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/under-the-sun-the-couple-presented-smiles-to-the-world-under-the-moon/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“Miss Blanche, having given through her tears a complete account of this event, assured me that, to maintain our own parental love and enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/miss-blanche-having-given-through-her-tears-a-complete-account-of/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“But since heaven has not seen fit to dower the human animal with an ability to understand cat language, I regret to say that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/but-since-heaven-has-not-seen-fit-to-dower-the-human-animal-with-an/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“A stomach can resite itself in a pulmonary location; Coxinga can be blood-kin to the Seiwa Minamotos; and that Mr. Tami, much maligned, may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/a-stomach-can-resite-itself-in-a-pulmonary-location-coxinga-can-be/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“So that wee bit of a thing is what you call a haiku-play? Quite awful! Ueda Bin is constantly pointing out in his essays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/so-that-wee-bit-of-a-thing-is-what-you-call-a-haiku-play-quite-awful/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“How deep, how recondite this seeming petty heart, In whose recesses right and wrong lie dimmed by distance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/how-deep-how-recondite-this-seeming-petty-heart-in-whose-recesses/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“The autumn leaves, arranged in two or three scarlet terraces among the pine-trees, have fallen like ancient dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/the-autumn-leaves-arranged-in-two-or-three-scarlet-terraces-among-the/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“When twilight fell, first upon knickers and then upon surcoats, there came the dawn of Japanese skirted-trousers. These were designed by monsters peeved by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/when-twilight-fell-first-upon-knickers-and-then-upon-surcoats-there/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“Had I had the misfortune to dwell in some other household, I might have lived nine lives and never known that such remarkable scholars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/had-i-had-the-misfortune-to-dwell-in-some-other-household-i-might/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“On my arrival at Tokyo, I rushed into her house swinging my valise, before going to a hotel, with "Hello, Kiyo, I'm back!" "How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/on-my-arrival-at-tokyo-i-rushed-into-her-house-swinging-my-valise/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“Approach everything rationally, and you become harsh. Pole along in the stream of emotions, and you will be swept away by the current. Give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/approach-everything-rationally-and-you-become-harsh-pole-along-in-the/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“When someone in privileged circumstances gets a bit bewildered or stymied or maybe stumbles, the light he sees things in will change. But seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/when-someone-in-privileged-circumstances-gets-a-bit-bewildered-or/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) [Explore all 69 Sōseki Natsume quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) ## More Picking and choosing quotes > [“History could be as arbitrary as poetry, he told himself: what is history, other than a matter of choice, the picking and choosing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/history-could-be-as-arbitrary-as-poetry-he-told-himself-what-is/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [I'm picking and choosing in terms of the stress factor. If it's not fun, I'm not going to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-baker/i-m-picking-and-choosing-in-terms-of-the-stress-factor-if-it-s-not/) [Anita Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-baker/) > [We live in a time where there's a required instant gratification from audiences. That's a fun challenge in terms of putting together this teaser,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-trank/we-live-in-a-time-where-there-s-a-required-instant-gratification-from/) [Josh Trank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-trank/) > [At the start of each year I sit down and look at both calendars and plan it that way. Obviously sometimes there are some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-halliday/at-the-start-of-each-year-i-sit-down-and-look-at-both-calendars-and/) [Liz Halliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-halliday/) > [ Have faith to keep all the commandments of God, knowing that they are given to bless His children and bring them joy. \[You\] will… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/have-faith-to-keep-all-the-commandments-of-god-knowing-that-they-are/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [The point guard is the most important position on the court. They often have to be the best player, not by choice but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bledsoe/the-point-guard-is-the-most-important-position-on-the-court-they/) [Eric Bledsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bledsoe/) > [I just want to work and be in films that I like, it is so simple. I think from the outside it seems as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-davis/i-just-want-to-work-and-be-in-films-that-i-like-it-is-so-simple-i/) [Kristin Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-davis/) > [“It's helpful to always remind yourself that meditation is about opening and relaxing withwhatever arises, without picking and choosing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/it-s-helpful-to-always-remind-yourself-that-meditation-is-about/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [That's the wonderful thing about picking and choosing who we want to work with, because I've been in situations where I've worked with someone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-civil/that-s-the-wonderful-thing-about-picking-and-choosing-who-we-want-to/) [Karen Civil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-civil/) > [You have to bump or throw a block sometimes. Even when it goes wrong, how many times has it worked? I think it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hailie-deegan/you-have-to-bump-or-throw-a-block-sometimes-even-when-it-goes-wrong/) [Hailie Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hailie-deegan/) > [It is intriguing to see the champ is picking and choosing his fights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-cannonier/it-is-intriguing-to-see-the-champ-is-picking-and-choosing-his-fights/) [Jared Cannonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-cannonier/) > [ I think that my IQ level grew as a player. I think that I \[run\] the game a little bit better. I'm waiting for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-rose/i-think-that-my-iq-level-grew-as-a-player-i-think-that-i-run-the-game/) [Derrick Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-rose/) > [The ultimate Path is without difficulty. Just avoid picking and choosing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sengcan/the-ultimate-path-is-without-difficulty-just-avoid-picking-and/) [Sengcan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sengcan/) > [“Begin in Genesis with the well-loved story of Noah, derived from the Babylonian myth of Uta-Napisthim and known from the older mythologies of several…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/begin-in-genesis-with-the-well-loved-story-of-noah-derived-from-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“As we seek God, it's best not to focus on asking about the future. It's not about picking and choosing which pieces of information…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rohrer/as-we-seek-god-it-s-best-not-to-focus-on-asking-about-the-future-it-s/) [Susan Rohrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rohrer/) [Browse all 38 Picking and choosing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picking-and-choosing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“With a palate as unrefined as mine I can’t taste any difference between this French food and what we had at that sleazy bar I got into trouble for inviting you to. To someone like me, they taste equally good. I know you disdain me for that. But the truth is, I take pride in that very fact, and I disdain you for disdaining me. I wonder if you take my point. Think about it in this regard: Which of us is constrained and which of us is free? Which is happy and which feels his hands are tied? Which is tranquil and which one wavers? As I see it, you’re always unsteady on your legs. You can’t find your courage. You’ll go to any length to avoid what displeases you, and you gallop after whatever you want. And why is that? There is no why; it’s because you’re free to. 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