“I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious views of anyone.”

Sympathy beyond the confines of man, that is, humanity to the lower animals, seems to be one of the latest moral acquisitions.

Blushing is the most peculiar and most human of all expressions.

Free will is to mind what chance is to matter.

Even when we are quite alone, how often do we think with pleasure or pain of what others think of us – of their imagined approbation or disapprobation.

We behold the face of nature bright with gladness.

He who remains passive when over-whelmed with grief loses his best chance of recovering his elasticity of mind.

An American monkey, after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus is much wiser than most men.

At no time am I a quick thinker or writer: whatever I have done in science has solely been by long pondering, patience and industry.

A language, like a species, when extinct, never – reappears.

Only picture to yourself a nice soft wife on a sofa with good fire, & books & music.

It strikes me that all our knowledge about the structure of our Earth is very much like what an old hen would know of the hundred-acre field in a corner of which she is scratching.

The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.

A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.

Animals, whom we have made our slaves, we do not like to consider our equal.

I ought, or I ought not, constitute the whole of morality.

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.

It’s a mistake not to give people a chance to learn to depend on themselves while they are young.

We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.

The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give.

The secret to living is giving.

Perhaps the depth of love can be calibrated by the number of different selves that are actively involved in a given relationship.

To those whom much is given, much is expected.

Music gives me courage and takes care of my mind.

A friend gathers all the pieces and gives them back in the right order.