Philosophers are people who know less and less about more and more, until they know nothing about everything. Scientists are people who know more and more about less and less, until they know everything about nothing.

The appeal of the cat lies in the very fact that she has formed no close bond with [man], that she has the uncompromising independence of a tiger or a leopard while she is hunting in his stables and barns: that she still remains mysterious and remote when she is rubbing herself gently against the legs of her mistress or purring contentedly in front of the fire.

A man sufficiently gifted with humor is in small danger of succumbing to flattering delusions about himself, because he cannot help perceiving what a pompous ass he would become if he did.

Historians will have to face the fact that natural selection determined the evolution of cultures in the same manner as it did that of species.

The fidelity of a dog is a precious gift.

The truth about an animal is far more exciting and altogether more beautiful than all the myths woven about it.

Humor and knowledge are the two great hopes of our culture.