How much do you know about saying grace and attitudes towards food in history?

Study Notes

Saying grace at meals likely originated from early hunter-gatherer societies.
The beauty of saying grace is most evident at a poor man's table or with simple meals.
Plain diets are most conducive to reflecting on the act of eating and the institution of sustenance.
Saying grace at a rich man's table with extravagant dishes can feel unseasonable and impertinent.
Gluttony and surfeiting are not proper occasions for thanksgiving.
The proper object of grace is sustenance, not delicacies.
A city chaplain may feel uncomfortable saying grace at a great Hall feast where guests indulge in excessive eating.
The banquet Satan provides in Paradise Regained is a satire on full tables and surfeits.
Graces may involve something awkward and unseasonable, especially before a meal.
The Quakers' silent grace is admirable.
The author discusses the eating habits of different people, including their attitudes towards food and drink.
He notes that some people eat with indifference and cleanliness, while others are more passionate and sensual about their food.
The author expresses his own preferences for certain foods, such as deer's flesh and asparagus.
He critiques those who pretend not to know what they are eating, and suggests that taste in food can reveal something about a person's character.
The author discusses the performance of grace before meals, noting that it can feel cold and spiritless in some households.
He recounts an experience drinking tea with two Methodist divines, one of whom suggested saying a prayer before the meal.
The other divine did not know of this custom and the prayer was not said.
The author suggests that a short grace lacks reverence, while a long one risks impertinence.
He critiques the old form of grace used at his school, which connected a humble blessing with recognition of overwhelming religious benefits.
The author concludes by referencing a legend about young Hospitallers who used to have roast meat until a benefactor gave them clothing instead.