--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a…" description: "\"Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.\" — Herman Melville" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than_2260545.jpg" --- # Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian. ![“Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.” quote by Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than_2260545.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than_2260545.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than_2260545.jpg) > “Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.” [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. A sober cannibal is preferable to a drunken Christian for better sleep. **In simple terms:** Being sober is better than being drunk, regardless of belief. Key Takeaway Choose sobriety for healthier rest. Themes sobriety sleep contrasting imagery morality Mood humorous critical Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - nighttime routines - alcohol abstinence - stress management - religious gatherings Key Concepts addiction spirituality health Questions to Reflect On - How does sobriety affect your sleep quality? - What role does belief play in your habits? A Different Perspective Humor may obscure serious health advice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Sober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sober/) ## Related quotes > [“What's all this fuss I have been making about, thought I to myself—the man's a human being just as I am: he has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/what-s-all-this-fuss-i-have-been-making-about-thought-i-to-myself-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [The man's (a heathen south sea islander) a human being, just as I am; he has just as much reason to fear me, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-man-s-a-heathen-south-sea-islander-a-human-being-just-as-i-am-he/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunk Christian.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than-a-drunk-christian/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Young men are apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are apt to think themselves sober enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/young-men-are-apt-to-think-themselves-wise-enough-as-drunken-men-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Drunken thoughts are sober words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/drunken-thoughts-are-sober-words/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Drunken words are sober thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mccarthy/drunken-words-are-sober-thoughts/) Alison McCarthy > [That which the sober man keeps in his breast, the drunken man lets out at the lips. Astute people, when they want to ascertain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/that-which-the-sober-man-keeps-in-his-breast-the-drunken-man-lets-out/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [We talk of the Turks, and abhor the cannibals; but may not some of them, go to heaven, before some of us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/we-talk-of-the-turks-and-abhor-the-cannibals-but-may-not-some-of-them/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [We cannibals must help these Christians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/we-cannibals-must-help-these-christians/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [A gentleman of Typee can bring up a numerous family of children and give them all a highly respectable cannibal education, with infinitely less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/a-gentleman-of-typee-can-bring-up-a-numerous-family-of-children-and/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Think of it. To go down to posterity as a 'man who lived among the cannibals.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/think-of-it-to-go-down-to-posterity-as-a-man-who-lived-among-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Go to the meat market of a Saturday night and see the crowds of live bipeds staring up at the long rows of dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/go-to-the-meat-market-of-a-saturday-night-and-see-the-crowds-of-live/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [...for all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean, comely looking cannibal...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/for-all-his-tattooings-he-was-on-the-whole-a-clean-comely-looking/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Cannibals? Who is not a cannibal? I tell you it will be more tolerable for the Fejee that salted down a lean missionary in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/cannibals-who-is-not-a-cannibal-i-tell-you-it-will-be-more-tolerable/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Joe!” he groaned, attempting to speak clearly. “Joe! Good ol’ Joe!” “Captain, you’re drunk!” Lofflin said, stating the obvious while trying to keep his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/joe-he-groaned-attempting-to-speak-clearly-joe-good-ol-joe-captain/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) ## More by Herman Melville > [“and man, though idiotic, and knowing not what he does, yet full of the sweet things of love and gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/and-man-though-idiotic-and-knowing-not-what-he-does-yet-full-of-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“But were the coming narrative to reveal in any instance, the complete abasement of poor Starbuck's fortitude, scarce might I have the heart to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/but-were-the-coming-narrative-to-reveal-in-any-instance-the-complete/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“(On Ralph Waldo Emerson)I love all men who dive. Any fish can swim near the surface, but it takes a great whale to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/on-ralph-waldo-emerson-i-love-all-men-who-dive-any-fish-can-swim-near/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“So seemed it to me, as I stood at her helm, and for long hours silently guided the way of this fire-ship on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/so-seemed-it-to-me-as-i-stood-at-her-helm-and-for-long-hours-silently/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“the only real owner of anything is its commander;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-only-real-owner-of-anything-is-its-commander/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures glide under water, unapparent for the most part, and treacherously hidden beneath the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/consider-the-subtleness-of-the-sea-how-its-most-dreaded-creatures/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Is it that by its indefiniteness it shadows forth the heartless voids and immensities of the universe, and thus stabs us from behind with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/is-it-that-by-its-indefiniteness-it-shadows-forth-the-heartless-voids/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Now, as I before hinted, I have no objection to any person's religion, be it what it may, so long as that person does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/now-as-i-before-hinted-i-have-no-objection-to-any-person-s-religion/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Let America first praise mediocrity even, in her children, before she praises... the best excellence in the children of any other land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/let-america-first-praise-mediocrity-even-in-her-children-before-she/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Only the man who says no is free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/only-the-man-who-says-no-is-free/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Beneath those stars is a universe of gliding monsters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/beneath-those-stars-is-a-universe-of-gliding-monsters/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Yet this is life. 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 Cannibal quotes > [When I go home my mother and I play a cannibal game; we eat each other over the years, tender morsel by morsel until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-howard/when-i-go-home-my-mother-and-i-play-a-cannibal-game-we-eat-each-other/) [Maureen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-howard/) > [You're just a cannibal and I'm afraid, I won't get out alive I won't sleep tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neon-trees/you-re-just-a-cannibal-and-i-m-afraid-i-won-t-get-out-alive-i-won-t/) [Neon Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neon-trees/) > [I spent years working in low-budget horror films. When you've done 'Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death,' you can handle anything!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-barbeau/i-spent-years-working-in-low-budget-horror-films-when-you-ve-done/) [Adrienne Barbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-barbeau/) > [We are on strike against martyrdom—and against the moral code that demands it. We are on strike against those who believe that one man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-on-strike-against-martyrdom-and-against-the-moral-code-that/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/is-it-true-that-cannibals-don-t-eat-clowns-because-they-taste-funny/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Cannibals prefer those who have no spines..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-lem/cannibals-prefer-those-who-have-no-spines/) [Stanislaw Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-lem/) > [“Don’t trust the cannibal just ’cos he’s usin’ a knife and fork!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/don-t-trust-the-cannibal-just-cos-he-s-usin-a-knife-and-fork/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Cannibal: epicures who abstain from alcohol and tobacco. As moral guides, they are underutilized in the police forces of modern societies.  ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bauvard/cannibal-epicures-who-abstain-from-alcohol-and-tobacco-as-moral/) [Bauvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bauvard/) > [It is easier for a cannibal to enter the Kingdom of Heaven through the eye of a rich man's needle that it is for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-easier-for-a-cannibal-to-enter-the-kingdom-of-heaven-through/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/most-of-the-people-will-have-died-and-the-rest-of-us-will-be-cannibals/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Are there any vegetarians among cannibals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/are-there-any-vegetarians-among-cannibals/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [Whenever cannibals are on the brink of starvation, Heaven, in its infinite mercy, sends them a fat missionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/whenever-cannibals-are-on-the-brink-of-starvation-heaven-in-its/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Carrie the Cannibal:she was raised in a posh house, without any parents. she was a slave. She always had a strange tasting for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaylee/carrie-the-cannibal-she-was-raised-in-a-posh-house-without-any/) [Kaylee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaylee/) > [No. The moral of the story in so far as it has one is that cannibals can study logic, and that if you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/no-the-moral-of-the-story-in-so-far-as-it-has-one-is-that-cannibals/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [“Victory will be ours!roared Joe Bob the Cannibal. "We will feast on your bones!" I wanted to tell him he was taking the dodgeball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/victory-will-be-ours-roared-joe-bob-the-cannibal-we-will-feast-on/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) Browse all 150 Cannibal quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herman Melville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than-a-drunken-christian/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cannibal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than-a-drunken-christian/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than_2260545.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than_2260545.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c27/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than_2260545.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.” — Herman Melville", "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": "Herman Melville", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Better sleep with a sober cannibal...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than-a-drunken-christian/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than-a-drunken-christian/#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 } } ] } ```