--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is something in us, somehow, that…" description: "\"There is something in us, somehow, that, in the most degraded condition, we snatch at a chance to deceive ourselves into a fanciedsuperiority to others..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/herman-melville-162_bigotry_there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in_654600.jpg" --- # There is something in us, somehow, that, in the most… ![“There is something in us, somehow, that, in the most degraded condition, we snatch at a chance to deceive ourselves into a fanciedsuperiority to others, whom we suppose lower in the scale than ourselves.” quote by Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/herman-melville-162_bigotry_there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in_654600.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/herman-melville-162_bigotry_there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in_654600.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/herman-melville-162_bigotry_there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in_654600.jpg) > “There is something in us, somehow, that, in the most degraded condition, we snatch at a chance to deceive ourselves into a fanciedsuperiority to others, whom we suppose lower in the scale than ourselves.” [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. Even in our worst state, we cling to false superiority, deceiving ourselves by ranking others below us. **In simple terms:** People often lie to themselves about being better than others. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge false pride. Themes pride self‑deception social hierarchy Mood critical reflective Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - workplace - social media - politics - interpersonal conflict Key Concepts ego inferiority complex Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports your sense of superiority? - How can humility improve relationships? A Different Perspective Self‑assessment can be uncomfortable and may threaten self‑esteem. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bigotry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigotry/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Chance Deceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance-deceive-5227965/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Conditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditions/) [Deceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceive/) [Deceive Fanciedsuperiority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceive-fanciedsuperiority-5227964/) [Deceiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceiving/) [Degraded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degraded/) [Fanciedsuperiority Suppose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanciedsuperiority-suppose-5227966/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scales/) ## Related quotes > [It is my belief that nearly any invented quotation, played with confidence, stands a good chance to deceive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-my-belief-that-nearly-any-invented-quotation-played-with/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Whenever we discover a dislike in us, toward any one, we should ever be a little suspicious of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/whenever-we-discover-a-dislike-in-us-toward-any-one-we-should-ever-be/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [You may go over the world and you will find that every form of religion which has breathed upon this earth has degraded woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/you-may-go-over-the-world-and-you-will-find-that-every-form-of/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Man is not made better by being degraded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-dix/man-is-not-made-better-by-being-degraded/) [Dorothea Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-dix/) > [Somehow Photoshop and the ease with which one can produce an image has degraded the quality of photography in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/somehow-photoshop-and-the-ease-with-which-one-can-produce-an-image/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [It is in vain to look for the elevation of woman so long as she is degraded in marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/it-is-in-vain-to-look-for-the-elevation-of-woman-so-long-as-she-is/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [As humanity perfects itself, man becomes degraded. When everything is reduced to the mere counter-balancing of economic interests, what room will there be for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-humanity-perfects-itself-man-becomes-degraded-when-everything-is/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Every hour I spent on manual work, every hour I was humiliated in England or degraded has helped me because that's the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sata/every-hour-i-spent-on-manual-work-every-hour-i-was-humiliated-in/) [Michael Sata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sata/) > [A poet who is a bad man is a degraded being, baser and more culpable than a bad man who is not a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-poet-who-is-a-bad-man-is-a-degraded-being-baser-and-more-culpable/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I'm an actor, so I love to be degraded!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-rossum/i-m-an-actor-so-i-love-to-be-degraded/) [Emmy Rossum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-rossum/) > [You degrade us and then ask why we are degraded. You shut our mouths and ask why we don't speak. You close your colleges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/you-degrade-us-and-then-ask-why-we-are-degraded-you-shut-our-mouths/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Art degraded, Imagination denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/art-degraded-imagination-denied/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [When art becomes merely shock value, our sense of humanity is slowly degraded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/when-art-becomes-merely-shock-value-our-sense-of-humanity-is-slowly/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [No government can be strong and flourishing while the national character is weak and degraded. A government must flourish and decay with its subjects;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-robbins-curtis/no-government-can-be-strong-and-flourishing-while-the-national/) [Benjamin Robbins Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-robbins-curtis/) > [Much of the same sort of degraded and filthy talk can still be heard among the orc-minded; dreary and repetitive with hatred and contempt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/much-of-the-same-sort-of-degraded-and-filthy-talk-can-still-be-heard/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) ## 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 Bigotry quotes > [“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/) > [To take up half on trust, and half to try, Name it not faith but bungling bigotry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/to-take-up-half-on-trust-and-half-to-try-name-it-not-faith-but/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [Bigoted people are just scholars who lack any sort of legitimate credentials to answer why they're bigoted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doctavius/bigoted-people-are-just-scholars-who-lack-any-sort-of-legitimate/) [Doctavius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doctavius/) > [Sadly, we can't eliminate bigotry. But that doesn't mean we have to tolerate it, much less give it a platform on which to thrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-viner/sadly-we-can-t-eliminate-bigotry-but-that-doesn-t-mean-we-have-to/) [Katharine Viner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-viner/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“People talk about history and things like slavery, genocide, and religious persecution as horrors that happened in the past because we were ignorant. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-matthew-nespoli/people-talk-about-history-and-things-like-slavery-genocide-and/) [J. Matthew Nespoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-matthew-nespoli/) > [“Remember who you are. This creature wants to take it from you. Do not let him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/remember-who-you-are-this-creature-wants-to-take-it-from-you-do-not/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Oh Beautiful For A Land That's Free Where All Can Congregate Together Live With No Degree Of Bigotry And Hate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bee/oh-beautiful-for-a-land-that-s-free-where-all-can-congregate-together/) [Kathy Bee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bee/) > [“That’s the problem with indoctrination—the whole point of the First Order’s kind of education is to stop someone from thinking and instead kick their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delilah-s-dawson/that-s-the-problem-with-indoctrination-the-whole-point-of-the-first/) [Delilah S. Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delilah-s-dawson/) > [Too small is our world to allow discrimination, bigotry and intolerance to thrive in any corner of it, let alone in the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-engel/too-small-is-our-world-to-allow-discrimination-bigotry-and/) [Eliot Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-engel/) > [... happily the Government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/happily-the-government-of-the-united-states-gives-to-bigotry-no/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“This book would be a great addition to a classroom library, especially considering its emphases on timeless and critical topics like discrimination and prejudice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-lovejoy/this-book-would-be-a-great-addition-to-a-classroom-library-especially/) [Sharon Lovejoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-lovejoy/) > [Pat Buchanan... was fired by MSNBC for doing nothing more than voicing his rock-solid conservative thoughts on the otherwise failing network... The real message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/pat-buchanan-was-fired-by-msnbc-for-doing-nothing-more-than-voicing/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [Fear and Bigotry are bred fom isolation and ignorance. -Shekinah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-and-bigotry-are-bred-fom-isolation-and-ignorance-shekinah/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 661 Bigotry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigotry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is something in us, somehow, that, in the most degraded condition, we snatch at a chance to deceive ourselves into a fanciedsuperiority to others, whom we suppose lower in the scale than ourselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herman Melville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in-the-most-degraded-condition/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bigotry" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in-the-most-degraded-condition/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/herman-melville-162_bigotry_there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in_654600.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/herman-melville-162_bigotry_there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in_654600.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/herman-melville-162_bigotry_there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in_654600.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is something in us, somehow, that, in the most degraded condition, we snatch at a chance to deceive…” — 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": "There is something in us, somehow,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in-the-most-degraded-condition/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-something-in-us-somehow-that-in-the-most-degraded-condition/#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 } } ] } ```