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.
—Frederick the Great, 1759Quotes
Animals are such agreeable friends—they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.
—George Eliot, 1857Man 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.
—William Hazlitt, 1819Man is a troublesome animal and therefore is not very manageable.
—Plato, c. 349 BCBe a good animal, true to your animal instincts.
—D.H. Lawrence, 1911Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.
—Samuel Butler, c. 1890Animals are good to think with.
—Claude Lévi-Strauss, 1962The elephant, although a gross beast, is yet the most decent and most sensible of any other upon earth. Although he never changes his female, and hath so tender a love for her whom he hath chosen, yet he never couples with her but at the end of every three years, and then only for the space of five days.
—St. Francis de Sales, 1609Man is no man, but a wolf, to a stranger.
—Plautus, c. 200 BCWhat delight can there be, and not rather displeasure, in hearing the barking and howling of dogs? Or what greater pleasure is there to be felt when a dog followeth a hare than when a dog followeth a dog?
—Thomas More, 1516A bull contents himself with one meadow, and one forest is enough for a thousand elephants; but the little body of a man devours more than all other living creatures.
—Seneca the Younger, c. 64There are some who, if a cat accidentally comes into the room, though they neither see it nor are told of it, will presently be in a sweat and ready to die away.
—Increase Mather, 1684Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It’s what separates us from the animals—except the weasel.
—The Simpsons, 1993