To tell the truth, sir, I believe I had rather sit in the…
““To tell the truth, sir, I believe I had rather sit in the shelter for a while. The cabbage seems to have turned my inward parts to water.’ Nonsense,’ said Stephen, ‘it is the most wholesome cabbage I have ever come across in the whole of my career. I hope, Mr. Herapath, that you are not going to join in the silly weak womanish unphilosophical mewling and puling about the cabbage. So it is a little yellow in certain lights, so it is a little sharp, so it smells a little strange: so much the better, say I. At least that will stop the insensate Phaeacian hogs from abusing it, as they abuse the brute creation, stuffing themselves with flesh until what little brain they have is drowned in fat. A virtuous esculent! Even its boldest detractors, ready to make the most hellish declarations and to swear through a nine-inch plank that the cabbage makes them fart and rumble, cannot deny that it cured their purpurae. Let them rumble till the heavens shake and resound again; let them fart fire and brimstone, the Gomorrhans, I will not have a single case of scurvy on my hands, the sea-surgeon’s shame, while there is a cabbage to be culled.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
A satirical defense of cabbage as a healthful food, mocking critics who dismiss it as harmful, while highlighting its medicinal benefits and resilience against corruption.
In simple terms: Satirical praise of cabbage’s health virtues.
Key Takeaway
Cabbage is both nutritious and a symbol of resistance to folly.
Themes
satire
nutrition
medical folklore
resistance to authority
humor
food criticism
Mood
playful
defiant
mock-serious
Type
humorous
philosophical
parodic
When to use this quote
- debates over dietary recommendations
- medical conferences discussing nutrition
- casual conversations about health foods
- literary gatherings with witty repartee
Key Concepts
cabbage as medicine
skepticism of experts
bodily health
social conformity
Practical Applications
- defending a controversial food in public discourse
- using humor to challenge medical dogma
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the cabbage represent beyond a vegetable?
- How does satire reveal biases in health debates?