--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have been second always. Tragical?…" description: "\"You have been second always. Tragical? No. You preferred it to the usual thing: One dull man, dulling and uxorious, One average mind- with one thought ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/ezra-pound-1208_average_you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no_1637455.png" --- # You have been second always. Tragical? No. You preferred… ![“You have been second always. Tragical? No. You preferred it to the usual thing: One dull man, dulling and uxorious, One average mind- with one thought less, each year.” quote by Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/ezra-pound-1208_average_you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no_1637455.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/ezra-pound-1208_average_you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no_1637455.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/ezra-pound-1208_average_you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no_1637455.png) > “You have been second always. Tragical? No. You preferred it to the usual thing: One dull man, dulling and uxorious, One average mind- with one thought less, each year.” [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on being perpetually secondary, not with regret but as a conscious choice to avoid mediocrity and conformity. **In simple terms:** Choosing to stay ordinary is a deliberate, not tragic, stance. Key Takeaway Embrace your role without shame. Themes identity conformity selfacceptance Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career stagnation - social expectations - personal ambition - creative work Key Concepts existentialism literary critique Questions to Reflect On - Do you accept mediocrity willingly? - What drives you to reject the usual? A Different Perspective It may ignore the desire for growth or impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Average](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average/) [Average minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average-minds/) [Dull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dull/) [Dull Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dull-man-538383/) [Dulling Uxorious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dulling-uxorious-538385/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Thing Dull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-dull-538386/) [Thought Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-year-538384/) [Usual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usual/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [But the more I read... after awhile... I begin to find they were all writing about the same thing, this same dull old here-today-gone-tomorrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/but-the-more-i-read-after-awhile-i-begin-to-find-they-were-all/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [I think the only thing that I really thought about, I am always every year thinking about how I can get better, how my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-summitt/i-think-the-only-thing-that-i-really-thought-about-i-am-always-every/) [Pat Summitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-summitt/) > [When we started 'Perry Mason,' we thought it might go a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-burr/when-we-started-perry-mason-we-thought-it-might-go-a-year/) [Raymond Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-burr/) > [I always have on my mind the thought that next year I must do something greater, something more wonderful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-houdini/i-always-have-on-my-mind-the-thought-that-next-year-i-must-do/) [Harry Houdini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-houdini/) > [I thought it would be easy. I thought it'd take me one year to be Salma Hayek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roselyn-sanchez/i-thought-it-would-be-easy-i-thought-it-d-take-me-one-year-to-be/) [Roselyn Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roselyn-sanchez/) > [A mere literary man is a dull man; a man who is solely a man of business is a selfish man; but when literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-mere-literary-man-is-a-dull-man-a-man-who-is-solely-a-man-of/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Anger will make a dull man witty, but very little money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i-tudor/anger-will-make-a-dull-man-witty-but-very-little-money/) [Elizabeth I Tudor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i-tudor/) > [It is widely held that too much wine will dull a man's desire. Indeed it will...in a dull man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-widely-held-that-too-much-wine-will-dull-a-man-s-desire-indeed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Labour is good for a man, bracing up his energies to conquest, And without it life is dull, the man perceiving himself useless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/labour-is-good-for-a-man-bracing-up-his-energies-to-conquest-and/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [It is the dull man who is always sure, and the sure man who is always dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-dull-man-who-is-always-sure-and-the-sure-man-who-is-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No man's brain is so dull, and no man's eye so blind, that they cannot catch food for dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-g-mitchell/no-man-s-brain-is-so-dull-and-no-man-s-eye-so-blind-that-they-cannot/) [Donald G. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-g-mitchell/) > [I'm actually a rather dull man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-allen/i-m-actually-a-rather-dull-man/) [Keith Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-allen/) > [Somehow love gives even to a dull man the knowledge of his lover's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hope/somehow-love-gives-even-to-a-dull-man-the-knowledge-of-his-lover-s/) [Anthony Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hope/) > [Only a very dull man spells a word the same way twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/only-a-very-dull-man-spells-a-word-the-same-way-twice/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The great man is not so great as folks think, and the dull man is not quite so stupid as he seems. The difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-great-man-is-not-so-great-as-folks-think-and-the-dull-man-is-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## More by Ezra Pound > [“I once saw a small child go to an electric light switch as say, "Mamma, can I open the light?" She was using the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-once-saw-a-small-child-go-to-an-electric-light-switch-as-say-mamma/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Till now they send him dreams and no more deed; So doth he flame again with might for action, Forgetful of the council of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/till-now-they-send-him-dreams-and-no-more-deed-so-doth-he-flame-again/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [A great age of literature is perhaps always a great age of translations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/a-great-age-of-literature-is-perhaps-always-a-great-age-of/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [It would be about as easy for an American to become a Chinaman or a Hindoo as for him to acquire an Englishness or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-american-to-become-a-chinaman-or-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Poets who are not interested in music are, or become, bad poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/poets-who-are-not-interested-in-music-are-or-become-bad-poets/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Anyone who is too lazy to master the comparatively small glossary necessary to understand Chaucer deserves to be shut out from the reading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/anyone-who-is-too-lazy-to-master-the-comparatively-small-glossary/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [where the dead walked and the living were made of cardboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/where-the-dead-walked-and-the-living-were-made-of-cardboard/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Liberty is not a right but a duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/liberty-is-not-a-right-but-a-duty/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The artist is always beginning. Any work of art which is not a beginning, an invention, a discovery is of little worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-artist-is-always-beginning-any-work-of-art-which-is-not-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Any general statement is like a cheque drawn on a bank. Its value depends on what is there to meet it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/any-general-statement-is-like-a-cheque-drawn-on-a-bank-its-value/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [In case I conk out, this is provisionally what I have to do: I must clarify obscurities; I must make clearer definite ideas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/in-case-i-conk-out-this-is-provisionally-what-i-have-to-do-i-must/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Adolf Hitler was a Jeanne d'Arc, a saint. He was a martyr.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/adolf-hitler-was-a-jeanne-d-arc-a-saint-he-was-a-martyr/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I could I trust starve like a gentleman. It's listed as part of the poetic training, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-could-i-trust-starve-like-a-gentleman-it-s-listed-as-part-of-the/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) [Explore all 273 Ezra Pound quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## More Average quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) [Brian Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-reade/) > [There were times last year when people looked at the scoreboard and thought my batting average was the temperature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-martinez/there-were-times-last-year-when-people-looked-at-the-scoreboard-and/) [Buck Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-martinez/) > [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [In comparative terms, there's no poverty in America by a long shot. Heritage Foundation political scientist Robert Rector has worked up figures showing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-comparative-terms-there-s-no-poverty-in-america-by-a-long-shot/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The average well-being of our societies is not dependent any longer on national income and economic growth. ... But the differences between us and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-wilkinson/the-average-well-being-of-our-societies-is-not-dependent-any-longer/) [Richard G. Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-wilkinson/) > [I really focus more to hit for average, just try to put the ball in play as much as I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-soto/i-really-focus-more-to-hit-for-average-just-try-to-put-the-ball-in/) [Juan Soto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-soto/) > [You give me enough shots, I'll average 20. You give me a particular system where I stick close to the basket, I'll average 10 rebounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bosh/you-give-me-enough-shots-i-ll-average-20-you-give-me-a-particular/) [Chris Bosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bosh/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [The average American expends more time becoming informed about choosing a car than choosing a candidate. But, then, the consequences of the former choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-average-american-expends-more-time-becoming-informed-about/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [My phone rings, they call me up and say, 'Chael, your testosterone level is too high.' I say, 'Well, how high was it?' They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/my-phone-rings-they-call-me-up-and-say-chael-your-testosterone-level/) [Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/) > [In one century, we've added 28 years to our average life span - a change so rapid that our brains couldn't possibly have evolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/in-one-century-we-ve-added-28-years-to-our-average-life-span-a-change/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [So-called Western Civilization, as practised in half of Europe, some of Asia and a few parts of North America, is better than anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/so-called-western-civilization-as-practised-in-half-of-europe-some-of/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I feel like what motivates me is what would motivate the regular average person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rico-nasty/i-feel-like-what-motivates-me-is-what-would-motivate-the-regular/) [Rico Nasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rico-nasty/) > [We're trying to do something so that when the average person uses Pinterest, it has to make the service better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-silbermann/we-re-trying-to-do-something-so-that-when-the-average-person-uses/) [Ben Silbermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-silbermann/) > [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) [Browse all 2,816 Average quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You have been second always. Tragical? No. You preferred it to the usual thing: One dull man, dulling and uxorious, One average mind- with one thought less, each year.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ezra Pound" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no-you-preferred-it-to-the-usual/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Average" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no-you-preferred-it-to-the-usual/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/ezra-pound-1208_average_you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no_1637455.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/ezra-pound-1208_average_you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no_1637455.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/ezra-pound-1208_average_you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no_1637455.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You have been second always. Tragical? No. You preferred it to the usual thing: One dull man, dulling and…” — Ezra Pound", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ezra Pound", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You have been second always. Tragical?...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no-you-preferred-it-to-the-usual/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/you-have-been-second-always-tragical-no-you-preferred-it-to-the-usual/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```