Art Quote by Tobias Smollett
““What passes for wine among us, is not the juice of the grape. It is an adulterous mixture, brewed up of nauseous ingredients, by dunces, who are bunglers in the art of poison-making; and yet we, and our forefathers, are and have been poisoned by this cursed drench, without taste or flavour—The only genuine and wholesome beveridge in England, is London porter, and Dorchester table-beer; but as for your ale and your gin, your cyder and your perry, and all the trashy family of made wines, I detest them as infernal compositions, contrived for the destruction of the human species.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Adventures of Roderick Random, 1748
The author condemns inferior, adulterated wines, praising simple, honest English porter as wholesome.
In simple terms: Bad wine is harmful; good porter is wholesome.
Key Takeaway
Choose quality over pretentiousness.
Themes
food and
culture
authenticity
critique
Mood
skeptical
analytical
Type
literary
cultural critique
When to use this quote
- wine selection
- restaurant reviews
- home brewing
Key Concepts
adulteration
taste
tradition
Questions to Reflect On
- What defines a "genuine" beverage?
- How do cultural biases shape our palate?
A Different Perspective
Taste preferences are subjective and cultural.
