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.
~ Joseph Addison

Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing ''Embraceable You'' in spats.
~ Woody Allen

We know what the animals do, what are the needs of the beaver, the bear, the salmon, and other creatures, because long ago men married them and acquired this knowledge from their animal wives. Today the priests say we lie, but we know better.
~ Native Americans

At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.
~ Aristotle

Drinking, when we are not thirsty and making love all year round, madam; that is all there is to distinguish us from other animals.
~ Pierre De Beaumarchais

The dog is the god of frolic.
~ Henry Ward Beecher

I shoot the Hippopotamus with bullets made of platinum, because if I use the leaden one his hide is sure to flatten em.
~ Hilaire Belloc

A peasant becomes fond of his pig and is glad to salt away its pork. What is significant, and is so difficult for the urban stranger to understand, is that the two statements are connected by an and not by a but.
~ John Berger

Bats have no bankers and they do not drink and cannot be arrested and pay no tax and, in general, bats have it made.
~ John Berryman

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.
~ Josh Billings

A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg.
~ Samuel Butler

Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.
~ Samuel Butler

The poor dog, in life the firmest friend. The first to welcome, foremost to defend.
~ Lord Byron

Animals awaken, first facially, then bodily. Men's bodies wake before their faces do. The animal sleeps within its body, man sleeps with his body in his mind.
~ Malcolm De Chazal

Always remember, a cat looks down on man, a dog looks up to man, but a pig will look man right in the eye and see his equal.
~ Winston Churchill

What an ugly beast the ape, and how like us.
~ Marcus T. Cicero

Poor little Foal of an oppressed race! I love the languid patience of thy face.
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Shall we never have done with that cliche, so stupid that it could only be human, about the sympathy of animals for man when he is unhappy? Animals love happiness almost as much as we do. A fit of crying disturbs them, they'll sometimes imitate sobbing, and for a moment they'll reflect our sadness. But they flee unhappiness as they flee fever, and I believe that in the long run they are capable of boycotting it.
~ Sidonie Gabrielle Colette

Mankind differs from the animals only by a little and most people throw that away.
~ Confucius

The following general definition of an animal: a system of different organic molecules that have combined with one another, under the impulsion of a sensation similar to an obtuse and muffled sense of touch given to them by the creator of matter as a whole, until each one of them has found the most suitable position for its shape and comfort.
~ Denis Diderot