--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do not think I have any uncharitable…" description: "\"I do not think I have any uncharitable prejudice against the rattlesnake, still, I should not like to be one.\" — Herman Melville" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/herman-melville-162_prejudice_i-do-not-think-i-have-any-uncharitable-p_2981813.jpg" --- # I do not think I have any uncharitable prejudice against… ![“I do not think I have any uncharitable prejudice against the rattlesnake, still, I should not like to be one.” quote by Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/herman-melville-162_prejudice_i-do-not-think-i-have-any-uncharitable-p_2981813.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/herman-melville-162_prejudice_i-do-not-think-i-have-any-uncharitable-p_2981813.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/herman-melville-162_prejudice_i-do-not-think-i-have-any-uncharitable-p_2981813.jpg) > “I do not think I have any uncharitable prejudice against the rattlesnake, still, I should not like to be one.” [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 uses a metaphor about prejudice to suggest empathy over fear. **In simple terms:** Avoid fearing those you don’t understand. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy over judgment. Themes prejudice empathy self‑reflection Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - social interactions - reading literature - personal growth - ethical debates Key Concepts moral philosophy human nature Questions to Reflect On - What biases do you hold unknowingly? - How can you turn fear into understanding? A Different Perspective Prejudice can be deeply ingrained despite rational thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Rattlesnake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rattlesnake/) [Rattlesnakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rattlesnakes/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Slapping a rattlesnake across the face with the back of your hand is safer than trying to fool Henry Aaron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-osteen/slapping-a-rattlesnake-across-the-face-with-the-back-of-your-hand-is/) Claude Osteen > [But for that blindness which is inseparable from malice, what terrible powers of evil would it possess! Fortunately for the world, its venom, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gilmore-simms/but-for-that-blindness-which-is-inseparable-from-malice-what-terrible/) [William Gilmore Simms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gilmore-simms/) > [The creator and arbiter of beauty is the heart; to the male rattlesnake the female rattlesnake is the loveliest thing in nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/the-creator-and-arbiter-of-beauty-is-the-heart-to-the-male/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I don't know about you, but rattlesnake sounds pretty damn good right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-teti/i-don-t-know-about-you-but-rattlesnake-sounds-pretty-damn-good-right/) [Joe Teti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-teti/) > [I ran across a rattlesnake once in New Mexico, you know what I did with it, chopped its head off and we ate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-teti/i-ran-across-a-rattlesnake-once-in-new-mexico-you-know-what-i-did/) [Joe Teti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-teti/) > [Everybody knew that you should never provoke a rattlesnake, much less tie it into a bow. But that didn't stop Judd. What did stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/everybody-knew-that-you-should-never-provoke-a-rattlesnake-much-less/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [The delicate sensitivity of a frightened rattlesnake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/the-delicate-sensitivity-of-a-frightened-rattlesnake/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [Every time I come across a rattlesnake on my farm I initially react in fear and am tempted to kill it. Then I realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/every-time-i-come-across-a-rattlesnake-on-my-farm-i-initially-react/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [It doesn’t take time to change once you understand the problem...Somebody hands you a rattlesnake, it doesn’t take long to drop it, does it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/it-doesn-t-take-time-to-change-once-you-understand-the-problem/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [To the goggling unbeliever Texans say, as people always say about their mangier dishes, 'But it's just like chicken, only tenderer.' Rattlesnake is, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/to-the-goggling-unbeliever-texans-say-as-people-always-say-about/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [RATTLESNAKE, n. Our prostrate brother, "Homo ventrambulans".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/rattlesnake-n-our-prostrate-brother-homo-ventrambulans/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [WHEN AUGUSTUS CAME OUT on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake—not a very big one. It had probably just been crawling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/when-augustus-came-out-on-the-porch-the-blue-pigs-were-eating-a/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [“The worst things I knows of is rattlesnakes and some kinds o’ people. And a rattlesnake minds his own matters if he ain’t bothered.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/the-worst-things-i-knows-of-is-rattlesnakes-and-some-kinds-o-people/) [Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/) > [“I am giving up saying anything uncharitable to anyone and about anyone. And that's harder than giving up chocolate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-giving-up-saying-anything-uncharitable-to-anyone-and-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In fact, because the unself-aware—which includes basically everybody—are impervious to uncharitable perceptions of their underlying motives, all these insights you have into people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-fact-because-the-unself-aware-which-includes-basically-everybody/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## 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 Prejudice quotes > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/when-dealing-with-people-remember-you-are-not-dealing-with-creatures/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-balliett/critics-are-biased-and-so-are-readers-indeed-a-critic-is-a-bundle-of/) Whitney Balliett > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I hate prejudice on any level. I don't care if it's somebody being discriminated against because of the color of their skin or their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlamagne-tha-god/i-hate-prejudice-on-any-level-i-don-t-care-if-it-s-somebody-being/) [Charlamagne tha God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlamagne-tha-god/) > [I felt pretty good growing up. I didnt feel a lot of prejudice or racism. But I do remember, if there was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/i-felt-pretty-good-growing-up-i-didnt-feel-a-lot-of-prejudice-or/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [So few men are really worth knowing, that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/so-few-men-are-really-worth-knowing-that-it-seems-a-shameful-waste-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The emancipated woman has to fight something worse than the crusted prejudices of her uncles; she has to fight the bewilderment in her own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/the-emancipated-woman-has-to-fight-something-worse-than-the-crusted/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [“Blaming therapy, social work and other caring professions for the confabulation of testimony of 'satanic ritual abuse' legitimated a programme of political and social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/blaming-therapy-social-work-and-other-caring-professions-for-the/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) John P Lintz Sr > [We all have prejudices to dispel: the need to get away from thinking that 'I' am important and special and 'you' are not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/we-all-have-prejudices-to-dispel-the-need-to-get-away-from-thinking/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than this truth that invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/nothing-better-protects-a-human-being-against-the-stupidity-of/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The fight against syphilis demands a fight against prostitution, against prejudices, old habits, against previous conceptions, general views among them not least the false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-fight-against-syphilis-demands-a-fight-against-prostitution/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) [Browse all 2,260 Prejudice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I do not think I have any uncharitable prejudice against the rattlesnake, still, I should not like to be one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herman Melville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/i-do-not-think-i-have-any-uncharitable-prejudice-against-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Prejudice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/i-do-not-think-i-have-any-uncharitable-prejudice-against-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/herman-melville-162_prejudice_i-do-not-think-i-have-any-uncharitable-p_2981813.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/herman-melville-162_prejudice_i-do-not-think-i-have-any-uncharitable-p_2981813.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/herman-melville-162_prejudice_i-do-not-think-i-have-any-uncharitable-p_2981813.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I do not think I have any uncharitable prejudice against the rattlesnake, still, I should not like to be one.” — 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": "I do not think I have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/i-do-not-think-i-have-any-uncharitable-prejudice-against-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/i-do-not-think-i-have-any-uncharitable-prejudice-against-the/#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 } } ] } ```