Every creature in the world is like a book and a picture, to us, and a mirror.

Alas! We are ridiculous animals.

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

Man is no man, but a wolf, to a stranger.

The fox knows lots of tricks, the hedgehog only one—but it’s a winner.

Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise.

Be a good animal, true to your animal instincts.

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

Animals are good to think with.

A dog starved at his master’s gate / Predicts the ruin of the state.

Animals have these advantages over man: they never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills.

Animals are such agreeable friends—they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.

There 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.