How did David Hume describe a standard of taste?

In his essay "Of the Standard of Taste," David Hume addresses the challenge of reconciling diverse individual sentiments regarding beauty. While acknowledging that taste is a form of emotionally inspired discrimination, he argues that it is natural for humans to seek a standard—a rule to confirm some sentiments and condemn others.1

Hume proposes an ideal of the "man of taste" to serve as this standard. He suggests that true taste requires specific qualities:
* Delicacy of imagination: A refined sensitivity necessary to perceive finer emotions.1
* Freedom from prejudice: Discriminations must be unclouded by emotional distemper or abnormal conditions.1

Hume draws a parallel between "mental" taste (aesthetic judgment) and "bodily" taste (the appreciation of food and drink), noting that both can be distorted by the subject's condition. By establishing procedures for the education of taste and the proper conduct of critical judgment, Hume sought to provide a basis for objectivity in aesthetic evaluation, despite the inherently subjective nature of human sentiment.1