How like to us is that filthy beast the ape.
—Cicero, 45 BCQuotes
The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
—Book of Proverbs, c. 500 BCMan is a troublesome animal and therefore is not very manageable.
—Plato, c. 349 BCImitate the ass in his love to his master.
—St. John Chrysostom, c. 388It is remarkable that only small birds properly sing.
—Charles Darwin, 1871If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail.
—Fran Lebowitz, 1981Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all.
—Aristotle, c. 350 BCAnimals 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.
—Voltaire, 1769Alas! We are ridiculous animals.
—Horace Walpole, 1777Keep running after a dog, and he will never bite you.
—François Rabelais, 1535Cows are among the gentlest of breathing creatures; none show more passionate tenderness to their young when deprived of them—and, in short, I am not ashamed to profess a deep love for these quiet creatures.
—Thomas De Quincey, 1821An ape will be an ape, though clad in purple.
—Erasmus, 1511Animals are such agreeable friends—they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.
—George Eliot, 1857