Cultivation: from the Latin cultus, past participle of colere
Synonyms: culture, cultivation, breeding, refinement, taste.
These nouns denote a personal quality resulting from the development of intellect, manners, and aesthetic appreciation. Culture implies enlightenment attained through close association with and appreciation of the highest level of civilization: “Culture is then properly described not as having its origin in curiosity, but as having its origin in the love of perfection” (Matthew Arnold). Cultivation suggests the process of self-improvement or self-development through which culture is acquired: The books and paintings in her library reflect her considerable cultivation. Breeding is revealed especially in good manners, poise, and sensitivity to the feelings of others: “The test of a man's or woman's breeding is how they behave in a quarrel” (George Bernard Shaw). Refinement stresses aversion to coarseness and implies a delicacy of feeling associated with fastidiousness: “to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion” (William Henry Channing). Taste is the capacity for recognizing and appreciating what is fitting, proper, or aesthetically superior: “These questions of taste, of feeling, of inheritance, need no settlement. Every one carries his own inch-rule of taste” (Henry Adams). |
