--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Better to sleep with a sober cannibal…" description: "\"“Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunk Christian.”\" — Herman Melville" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-th_2939785.jpg" --- # Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunk… ![“Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunk Christian.” quote by Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-th_2939785.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-th_2939785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-th_2939785.jpg) > ““Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunk 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. Prefers a sober, rational partner over a drunk religious one, highlighting absurdity. **In simple terms:** Choose sober over drunk faith. Key Takeaway Value reason over blind devotion. Themes religion rationality absurdity choice Mood wry provocative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - ethical decisions - cultural commentary Key Concepts literature philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - What does “sober” symbolize? - How do we balance faith and reason? A Different Perspective The comparison may be overly provocative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sobriety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sobriety/) ## Related quotes > [Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/better-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than-a-drunken-christian/) [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/) > [I was drunk: Christian and drunk. They just don't go together. But that's what happened. And the next day, obviously God had honored those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hamilton/i-was-drunk-christian-and-drunk-they-just-don-t-go-together-but-that/) [Jim Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hamilton/) > [“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/) > [...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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“Hit the bottom and get back up; or hit the bottle and stay down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/hit-the-bottom-and-get-back-up-or-hit-the-bottle-and-stay-down/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [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/) ## 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 to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunk Christian.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herman Melville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than-a-drunk-christian/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cannibal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than-a-drunk-christian/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-th_2939785.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-th_2939785.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/herman-melville-162_cannibal_better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-th_2939785.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunk 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 to sleep with a sober...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than-a-drunk-christian/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/better-to-sleep-with-a-sober-cannibal-than-a-drunk-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 } } ] } ```