Every ass thinks himself worthy to stand with the king’s horses.

From the oyster to the eagle, from the pig to the tiger, all animals exist in man, and each one of them is in a man. Sometimes even several of them at a time. Animals are nothing else than the figures of our virtues and our vices, straying before our eyes, the visible phantoms of our souls. God shows them to us in order to induce us to reflect.

Happiness is a warm puppy.

Of all the creatures that breathe and creep on the surface of the earth, none is more to be pitied than man.

I hate the sight of monkeys; they remind me so of poor relations.

Who hears the fishes when they cry?

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.

Life is no way to treat an animal.

What 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?

The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

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

Imitate the ass in his love to his master.

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