Animals are such agreeable friends—they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.
—George Eliot, 1857Quotes
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.
—Increase Mather, 1684Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It’s what separates us from the animals—except the weasel.
—The Simpsons, 1993Animals 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, 1769Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes and pompous in the grave.
—Thomas Browne, 1658Imitate the ass in his love to his master.
—St. John Chrysostom, c. 388Animals, 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.
—Joseph Addison, 1711Every ass thinks himself worthy to stand with the king’s horses.
—Gnomologia, 1732Keep running after a dog, and he will never bite you.
—François Rabelais, 1535A good dog, sir, deserves a good bone.
—Ben Jonson, 1633Man is a troublesome animal and therefore is not very manageable.
—Plato, c. 349 BCLife is no way to treat an animal.
—Kurt Vonnegut, 2005The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
—Book of Proverbs, c. 500 BC