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

Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.

Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all. 

Alas! We are ridiculous animals.

How like to us is that filthy beast the ape.

Men, my dear, are very queer animals—a mixture of horse nervousness, ass stubbornness, and camel malice.

In every man is a wild beast; most of them don’t know how to hold it back, and the majority give it full rein when they are not restrained by terror of law.

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

Man and animals are really the conduit of food, the sepulcher of animals, and resting place of the dead, one causing the death of the other, making themselves the covering for the corruption of other dead bodies.

It is remarkable that only small birds properly sing.

If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail.