---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who seem to load the public taste…"
description: "\"Those who seem to load the public taste are, in general, merely outrunning it in the direction which it is spontaneously pursuing.\" — Thomas B. Macaulay"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60c/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_fashion_those-who-seem-to-load-the-public-taste_3067917.png"
---

#  Those who seem to load the public taste are, in general…

![“Those who seem to load the public taste are, in general, merely outrunning it in the direction which it is spontaneously pursuing.” quote by Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60c/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_fashion_those-who-seem-to-load-the-public-taste_3067917.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60c/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_fashion_those-who-seem-to-load-the-public-taste_3067917.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60c/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_fashion_those-who-seem-to-load-the-public-taste_3067917.png)

> “Those who seem to load the public taste are, in general, merely outrunning it in the direction which it is spontaneously pursuing.”

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Public preferences evolve naturally; trying to outrun them often fails.

**In simple terms:** Trends move on their own; chasing them is futile.

Key Takeaway

Observe, adapt, don’t force trends.

Themes

society trend culture change

Mood

thoughtful analytical

Type

philosophical observational

When to use this quote

- marketing
- fashion
- technology adoption
- political movements

Key Concepts

Sociology cultural evolution

Questions to Reflect On

- What signals indicate authentic shifts?
- How can you balance originality with relevance?

A Different Perspective

Risk of missing genuine innovation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Load](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/load/) [Merely Outrunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-outrunning-5175509/) [Outrunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outrunning-4299397/) [Outrunning Direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outrunning-direction-5175511/) [Public Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-taste-406296/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Spontaneously Pursuing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spontaneously-pursuing-5175510/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/)

## Related quotes

> [“But no matter where I went, what I was running from would still be with me—Kat. She wasn’t just back in the house, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/but-no-matter-where-i-went-what-i-was-running-from-would-still-be/)

[Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/)

> [You'll get no laurel crown for outrunning a burrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/you-ll-get-no-laurel-crown-for-outrunning-a-burrow/)

[Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/)

> [The adult public's taste is not necessarily ready to accept the logical solutions to their requirements if the solution implies too vast a departure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-loewy/the-adult-public-s-taste-is-not-necessarily-ready-to-accept-the/)

[Raymond Loewy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-loewy/)

> [The things that have been most popular with people have always been a total surprise, and so I've never felt like I could really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-ervin-beam/the-things-that-have-been-most-popular-with-people-have-always-been-a/)

[Samuel Ervin Beam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-ervin-beam/)

> [I am pleased with the exhibition... everything on display was sold for a good price to decent people. It has been a long time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-am-pleased-with-the-exhibition-everything-on-display-was-sold-for-a/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [“Charging commercial institutions with failure to educate public taste is an indulgence from which intellectuals will only be deterred when they grasp that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-watson/charging-commercial-institutions-with-failure-to-educate-public-taste/)

[Colin Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-watson/)

> [Discussions of Western civilization are too often confined to works of high art that reflect a relatively narrow element of public taste and experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-warraq/discussions-of-western-civilization-are-too-often-confined-to-works/)

[Ibn Warraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-warraq/)

> [If the work is poor, the public taste will soon do it justice. And the author, reaping neither glory nor fortune, will learn by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/if-the-work-is-poor-the-public-taste-will-soon-do-it-justice-and-the/)

[Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/)

> [You've got to change with the public's taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-king-cole/you-ve-got-to-change-with-the-public-s-taste/)

[Nat King Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-king-cole/)

> [It is precisely those artists and writers who are most inclined to think of their art as the manifestation of their personality who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/it-is-precisely-those-artists-and-writers-who-are-most-inclined-to/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

> [An actor should refine public taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/an-actor-should-refine-public-taste/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [The syllogism art for art's sake refers to that kind of painting which disregards, or is contrary to, public taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/the-syllogism-art-for-art-s-sake-refers-to-that-kind-of-painting/)

[Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/)

> [Those who say they give the public what it wants begin by underestimating public taste and end by debauching it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/those-who-say-they-give-the-public-what-it-wants-begin-by/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [Those who say they (television) give the public what it wants begin by underestimating public taste, and end by debauching it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-say-they-television-give-the-public-what-it-wants-begin-by/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [People always make this totally artificial distinction between what is commercial and what is good. They quote that maxim "Nobody ever lost money underestimating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/people-always-make-this-totally-artificial-distinction-between-what/)

[Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/)

## More by Thomas B. Macaulay

> [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [We must judge a government by its general tendencies and not by its happy accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/we-must-judge-a-government-by-its-general-tendencies-and-not-by-its/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [None of the modes by which a magistrate is appointed, popular election, the accident of the lot, or the accident of birth, affords, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/none-of-the-modes-by-which-a-magistrate-is-appointed-popular-election/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [Our estimate of a character always depends much on the manner in which that character affects our own interests and passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/our-estimate-of-a-character-always-depends-much-on-the-manner-in/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [Re: Robert Montgomery's Poems His writing bears the same relation to poetry which a Turkey carpet bears to a picture. There are colours in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/re-robert-montgomery-s-poems-his-writing-bears-the-same-relation-to/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [Highest among those who have exhibited human nature by means of dialogue stands Shakespeare. His variety is like the variety of nature,--endless diversity, scarcely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/highest-among-those-who-have-exhibited-human-nature-by-means-of/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [The most beautiful object in the world, it will be allowed, is a beautiful woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/the-most-beautiful-object-in-the-world-it-will-be-allowed-is-a/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [The passages in which Milton has alluded to his own circumstances are perhaps read more frequently, and with more interest, than any other lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/the-passages-in-which-milton-has-alluded-to-his-own-circumstances-are/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [Oh, wherefore come ye forth in triumph from the north, With your hands, and your feet, and your raiment all red? And wherefore doth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/oh-wherefore-come-ye-forth-in-triumph-from-the-north-with-your-hands/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [It is, I believe, no exaggeration to say that all the historical information which has been collected in the Sanskrit language is less valuable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/it-is-i-believe-no-exaggeration-to-say-that-all-the-historical/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [Ambrose Phillips . . . who had the honor of bringing into fashion a species of composition which has been called, after his name, Namby Pamby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/ambrose-phillips-who-had-the-honor-of-bringing-into-fashion-a-species/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-the-infancy-of-civilization-when-our-island-was-as-savage-as-new/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [In truth it may be laid down as an almost universal rule that good poets are bad critics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-truth-it-may-be-laid-down-as-an-almost-universal-rule-that-good/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [He had a head which statuaries loved to copy, and a foot the deformity of which the beggars in the streets mimicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/he-had-a-head-which-statuaries-loved-to-copy-and-a-foot-the-deformity/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [The Spartan, smiting and spurning the wretched Helot, moves our disgust. But the same Spartan, calmly dressing his hair, and uttering his concise jests,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/the-spartan-smiting-and-spurning-the-wretched-helot-moves-our-disgust/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

[Explore all 193 Thomas B. Macaulay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

## More Fashion quotes

> [“I can either be a victim—or a winner. Fuck victimhood. I don’t wear it well; it clashes with my wardrobe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-can-either-be-a-victim-or-a-winner-fuck-victimhood-i-don-t-wear-it/)

[Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/)

> [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/)

[Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/)

> [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/)

[Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/)

> [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/)

[Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/)

> [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [Never in a million years would I imagine Calvin Klein flying me out to my first men's fashion show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dallas/never-in-a-million-years-would-i-imagine-calvin-klein-flying-me-out/)

[Cameron Dallas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dallas/)

> [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/)

[Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/)

> [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/)

[Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/)

> [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [No one knows whom the shoe pinches - no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholom-aleichem/no-one-knows-whom-the-shoe-pinches-no-one/)

[Sholom Aleichem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholom-aleichem/)

> [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/)

[Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/)

> [I have always been too round to do fashion shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/i-have-always-been-too-round-to-do-fashion-shows/)

[Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/)

> [My friend made me a leather dress for the MTV awards. It gives you confidence, wearing something you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/my-friend-made-me-a-leather-dress-for-the-mtv-awards-it-gives-you/)

[Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/)

> [I've retired my sneakers for stilettos, baby!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivica-a-fox/i-ve-retired-my-sneakers-for-stilettos-baby/)

[Vivica A. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivica-a-fox/)

[Browse all 19,830 Fashion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Those who seem to load the public taste are, in general, merely outrunning it in the direction which it is spontaneously pursuing.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas B. Macaulay"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/those-who-seem-to-load-the-public-taste-are-in-general-merely/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fashion"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/those-who-seem-to-load-the-public-taste-are-in-general-merely/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60c/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_fashion_those-who-seem-to-load-the-public-taste_3067917.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60c/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_fashion_those-who-seem-to-load-the-public-taste_3067917.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60c/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_fashion_those-who-seem-to-load-the-public-taste_3067917.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Those who seem to load the public taste are, in general, merely outrunning it in the direction which it is…” — Thomas B. Macaulay",
                "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": "Thomas B. Macaulay",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Those who seem to load the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/those-who-seem-to-load-the-public-taste-are-in-general-merely/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/those-who-seem-to-load-the-public-taste-are-in-general-merely/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
