Scholars continue to misconstrue Ludwig Feuerbach's well-known phrase" Man is what he eats"(" Der Mensch ist was er isst"). As early as 1862 Feuerbach complained of a reference to it as a" scurrilous expression of modern sensualistic pseudo-wisdom"; as recently as 1962 Professor Carl Cohen referred to it as an expression of Feuerbach's" materialism." 1 The misunderstanding would be trivial were it not an almost universal practice to attribute to the statement a metaphysical significance far-indeed ludicrously far-beyond Feuerbach's intention. I am not concerned with the origin of the error or the reasons for its perpetration: insufficient acquaintance with his writings and life seems to be chiefly responsible. What I would like to do is to discuss the phrase in terms of its context, the article in which it appeared and the personal political concerns of the author. Although scarcely a contribution to the theory of materialism, Feuerbach's view is interesting as a comment on the aftermath of the Revolutions of 1848-1849 and techniques of social amelioration in the mid-XIXth century. At the time Feuerbach coined his phrase he was absorbed in politics and had all but given up his philosophic interests. 2 For over a decade he had lived the life of a recluse in the tiny Bavarian village of Bruckberg. There he achieved love, insight, and fame. The first led to his marriage to Bertha Low, part-owner of a porcelain factory, allowing him the material support needed for his work and, so he asserted, to a recognition of the sensual aspect of life. The second led to a rejection of Hegel and to the propagation of a" philosophy of the future" and a brilliant explanation (or clarification) of the phenomenon of religion. 3 The third, a reputation sufficient to cause