--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At present I would prefer not to be a…" description: "\"“At present I would prefer not to be a little reasonable,' was his mildly cadaverous reply.”\" — Herman Melville" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/herman-melville-162_reasonable_at-present-i-would-prefer-not-to-be-a-li_438054.jpg" --- # At present I would prefer not to be a little reasonable,'… ![“At present I would prefer not to be a little reasonable,' was his mildly cadaverous reply.” quote by Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/herman-melville-162_reasonable_at-present-i-would-prefer-not-to-be-a-li_438054.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/herman-melville-162_reasonable_at-present-i-would-prefer-not-to-be-a-li_438054.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/herman-melville-162_reasonable_at-present-i-would-prefer-not-to-be-a-li_438054.jpg) > ““At present I would prefer not to be a little reasonable,' was his mildly cadaverous reply.”” [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He humorously rejects being merely reasonable, preferring a more daring, perhaps irrational stance. **In simple terms:** He prefers boldness over simple reason. Key Takeaway Embrace daring over mere reason. Themes courage individualism skepticism Mood wry provocative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal decisions - creative pursuits - risk taking Key Concepts existentialism absurdism Questions to Reflect On - When does boldness become reckless? - Is reason always limiting? A Different Perspective Being unreasonable can alienate others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Reasoning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning/) [Sanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanity/) ## Related quotes > [Who in the rainbow can draw the line where the violet tint ends and the orange tint begins? 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Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [The only way to Heaven is prayer; a prayer of the heart, which every one is capable of, and not of reasonings which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/the-only-way-to-heaven-is-prayer-a-prayer-of-the-heart-which-every/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) > [“It is easy to confuse a fantasy for a reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duop-chak-wuol/it-is-easy-to-confuse-a-fantasy-for-a-reality/) Duop Chak Wuol > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“When a lady does consent to listen to an argument against her own opinions, she is always predetermined to withstand it - to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/when-a-lady-does-consent-to-listen-to-an-argument-against-her-own/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“Death makes its own choices. 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They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. 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For hardly have we mortals by long toilings extracted from this world's vast bulk its small but valuable sperm; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/yet-this-is-life-for-hardly-have-we-mortals-by-long-toilings/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [I never fancied broiling fowls; - though once broiled, judiciously buttered, and judgmatically salted and peppered, there is no one who will speak more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/i-never-fancied-broiling-fowls-though-once-broiled-judiciously/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [War should be carried on like a monsoon; one changeless determination of every particle towards the one unalterable aim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/war-should-be-carried-on-like-a-monsoon-one-changeless-determination/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Genius is full of trash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/genius-is-full-of-trash/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) [Explore all 1,009 Herman Melville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) ## More Reasonable quotes > [“They were inconveniently reasonable, these women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/they-were-inconveniently-reasonable-these-women/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [“A reasonable looking guy with a sense of humour to go to parties with: surely that´s not too much to ask, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-alexander/a-reasonable-looking-guy-with-a-sense-of-humour-to-go-to-parties-with/) [Nick Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-alexander/) > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [It's not reasonable for companies that have chief executives and board members who are paid very considerable sums to subsidise low pay through in-work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-johnson/it-s-not-reasonable-for-companies-that-have-chief-executives-and/) [Boris Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-johnson/) > [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Whether Earth was deliberately terraformed, in other words, or whether it was seeded with the spores of life from crashed comets or whether, indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/whether-earth-was-deliberately-terraformed-in-other-words-or-whether/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [You know what they say, 'You have to work at wisdom; you have to take pains to be reasonable, but to be foolish, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-colet/you-know-what-they-say-you-have-to-work-at-wisdom-you-have-to-take/) [Louise Colet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-colet/) > [They either attach themselves to God's will, which results in their continuous progress, improvement and advancement, or they oppose God's will, are justly subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-palamas/they-either-attach-themselves-to-god-s-will-which-results-in-their/) [Gregory Palamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-palamas/) > [Love is not reasonable. If we could assign it to the reasonable world, it would not be useful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/love-is-not-reasonable-if-we-could-assign-it-to-the-reasonable-world/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Urgent optimism is the desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle, combined with the belief that we have a reasonable hope of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/urgent-optimism-is-the-desire-to-act-immediately-to-tackle-an/) [Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/) > [Reasonable people can differ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/reasonable-people-can-differ/) Proverb > [God's wrath is not an implacable, blind rage. However emotional it may be, it is an entirely reasonable and willed response to offenses against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-carson/god-s-wrath-is-not-an-implacable-blind-rage-however-emotional-it-may/) [D. A. 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