--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Valuable and ingenious he might be…" description: "\"“Valuable and ingenious he might be, thought Jack, fixing him with his glass, but false he was too, and perjured. He had voluntarily sworn to have no t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/patrick-o-brian-2283_animals_valuable-and-ingenious-he-might-be-thoug_750417.jpg" --- # Valuable and ingenious he might be, thought Jack, fixing… ![“Valuable and ingenious he might be, thought Jack, fixing him with his glass, but false he was too, and perjured. He had voluntarily sworn to have no truck with vampires, and here, attached to his bosom, spread over it and enfolded by one arm, was a greenish hairy thing, like a mat - a loathsome…” quote by Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/patrick-o-brian-2283_animals_valuable-and-ingenious-he-might-be-thoug_750417.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/patrick-o-brian-2283_animals_valuable-and-ingenious-he-might-be-thoug_750417.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/patrick-o-brian-2283_animals_valuable-and-ingenious-he-might-be-thoug_750417.jpg) > ““Valuable and ingenious he might be, thought Jack, fixing him with his glass, but false he was too, and perjured. He had voluntarily sworn to have no truck with vampires, and here, attached to his bosom, spread over it and enfolded by one arm, was a greenish hairy thing, like a mat - a loathsome great vampire of the most poisonous kind, no doubt. ‘I should never have believed it of him: his sacred oath in the morning watch and now he stuffs the ship with vampires; and God knows what is in that bag. No doubt he was tempted, but surely he might blush for his fall?’ No blush; nothing but a look of idiot delight as he came slowly up the side, hampered by his burden and comforting it in Portuguese as he came. ‘I am happy to see that you were so successful, Dr Maturin,’ he said, looking down into the launch and the canoes, loaded with glowing heaps of oranges and shaddocks, red meat, iguanas, bananas, greenstuff. ‘But I am afraid no vampires can be allowed on board.’ ‘This is a sloth,’ said Stephen, smiling at him. ‘A three-toed sloth, the most affectionate, discriminating sloth you can imagine!’ The sloth turned its round head, fixed its eyes on Jack, uttered a despairing wail, and buried its face again in Stephen’s shoulder, tightening its grip to the strangling-point.”” [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character wrestles with betrayal and the absurdity of confronting a dangerous creature while maintaining a veneer of civility. **In simple terms:** Betrayal meets absurd danger. Key Takeaway Question loyalties and absurdity. Themes betrayal absurdity danger morality humor Mood wry tense reflective Type literary humorous philosophical When to use this quote - naval expedition - encounter with unknown threat - ethical dilemma - comic relief Key Concepts honor temptation identity survival Questions to Reflect On - How do we reconcile duty with personal temptation? - When does absurdity mask deeper moral conflict? A Different Perspective The humor may downplay the seriousness of betrayal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [God knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-knows/) [Humour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humour/) [Sloth Affectionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sloth-affectionate-5839697/) [Sloth Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sloth-said-5839694/) [Sloth Turned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sloth-turned-5839695/) [Vampire Poisonous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vampire-poisonous-5839696/) [Vampires God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vampires-god-2886856/) ## Related quotes > [“I wanted love and goodness in this which is living death,' I said. 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No doubt he was tempted, but surely he might blush for his fall?’ No blush; nothing but a look of idiot delight as he came slowly up the side, hampered by his burden and comforting it in Portuguese as he came. ‘I am happy to see that you were so successful, Dr Maturin,’ he said, looking down into the launch and the canoes, loaded with glowing heaps of oranges and shaddocks, red meat, iguanas, bananas, greenstuff. ‘But I am afraid no vampires can be allowed on board.’ ‘This is a sloth,’ said Stephen, smiling at him. ‘A three-toed sloth, the most affectionate, discriminating sloth you can imagine!’ The sloth turned its round head, fixed its eyes on Jack, uttered a despairing wail, and buried its face again in Stephen’s shoulder, tightening its grip to the strangling-point.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patrick O'Brian" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/valuable-and-ingenious-he-might-be-thought-jack-fixing-him-with-his/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/valuable-and-ingenious-he-might-be-thought-jack-fixing-him-with-his/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/patrick-o-brian-2283_animals_valuable-and-ingenious-he-might-be-thoug_750417.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/patrick-o-brian-2283_animals_valuable-and-ingenious-he-might-be-thoug_750417.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/patrick-o-brian-2283_animals_valuable-and-ingenious-he-might-be-thoug_750417.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Valuable and ingenious he might be, thought Jack, fixing him with his glass, but false he was too, and…” — Patrick O'Brian", "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": "Patrick O'Brian", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Valuable and ingenious he might be,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/valuable-and-ingenious-he-might-be-thought-jack-fixing-him-with-his/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/valuable-and-ingenious-he-might-be-thought-jack-fixing-him-with-his/#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 } } ] } ```