We are all born like Catholics, aren't we—in limbo, without religion, until some figure introduces us to God?

Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu, how good to see you Richard Parker!

Life on a lifeboat isn't much of a life.

Zoo is an artificial territory, an approximation. Civilization is our natural territory.

These people walk by a widow deformed by leprosy...walk by children dressed in rags living in the street, and they think, 'Business as usual.' But if they perceive a slight against God, it is a different story. Their faces go red, their chests heave mightily, they sputter angry words. The degree of their indignation is astonishing. Their resolve is frightening.

Life and death live and die in exactly the same spot, the body. It is from there that both babies and cancers are born.

Just beyond the ticket booth Father had painted on a wall in bright red letters the question: DO YOU KNOW WHICH IS THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL IN THE ZOO? An arrow pointed to a small curtain. There were so many eager, curious hands that pulled at the curtain that we had to replace it regularly. Behind it was a mirror.