Quote added by staff

Why not add this to your bookmarks?

  ...taste is essentially a moral quality. "No," say many of my antagonists, "taste is one thing, morality is another. Tell us what is pretty: we shall be glad to know that; but we need no sermons--even were you able to preach them, which may be doubted."
Permit me, therefore, to fortify this old dogma of mine somewhat. Taste is not only a part and an index of morality;--it is the ONLY morality. The first, and last, and closest trial question to any living creature is, "What do you like?" Tell me what you like and I'll tell you what you are.   Go out into the street, and ask the first man or woman you meet, what their "taste" is; and if they answer candidly, you know them, body and soul. "You, my friend in the rags, with the unsteady gait, what do _you_ like?" "A pipe and a quartern of gin." I know you. "You, good woman, with the quick step and tidy bonnet, what do you like?" "A swept hearth, and a clean tea-table; and my husband opposite me, and a baby at my breast." Good, I know you also. "You, little girl with the golden...   Ruskin, John

Excerpt from Selections From the Works of John Ruskin · This quote is tagged Desire · Search on Google Books to find all references and sources for this quotation.

  Chat about this quote in the Village Inn

  Share corrections or notes in the village Library

• Biography
• 1 Fan
• This quote in blogs