I hate the sight of monkeys; they remind me so of poor relations.

Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve and from which he cannot escape.

Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.

Of all the creatures that breathe and creep on the surface of the earth, none is more to be pitied than man.

Man and animals are really the conduit of food, the sepulcher of animals, and resting place of the dead, one causing the death of the other, making themselves the covering for the corruption of other dead bodies.

Do you not see how God is praised by those in the heavens and those on earth? The very birds praised Him as they wing their way.

Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men, but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass.

In every man is a wild beast; most of them don’t know how to hold it back, and the majority give it full rein when they are not restrained by terror of law.

Men, my dear, are very queer animals—a mixture of horse nervousness, ass stubbornness, and camel malice.

The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes and pompous in the grave.

Every ass thinks himself worthy to stand with the king’s horses.

There be beasts that, at a year old, observe more, and pursue that which is for their good more prudently, than a child can do at ten.