“If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.”

Last update March 31, 2026. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never …" by Mark Twain?

Mark Twain637

American author and humorist 1835–1910

Related quotes

“I don’t use the word 'pet.' I think it’s speciesist language. I prefer 'companion animal.' For one thing, we would no longer allow breeding. People could not create different breeds. There would be no pet shops. If people had companion animals in their homes, those animals would have to be refugees from the animal shelters and the streets. You would have a protective relationship with them just as you would with an orphaned child. But as the surplus of cats and dogs (artificially engineered by centuries of forced breeding) declined, eventually companion animals would be phased out, and we would return to a more symbiotic relationship — enjoyment at a distance.”

Ingrid Newkirk (1949) British-American activist

The Harper's Forum Book, Jack Hitt, ed., 1989, p. 223.
1980s

“Cats do not give us too many chances. Abuse a cat's trust twice and you could be history, for cats are much less forgiving than dogs and will often lose their trust in you should you behave badly. A dog gives you infinite slack; not so a cat.”

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (1941) American writer and activist

Source: The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats (2002), Ch. 2

“Some atheists say that Adam could never name all of those animals in one day. When I get all excited I can speak 350 words in a minute. At 300 words in a minute you can name all the animals in 26 minutes. Dog, cat, elephant, aardvark, hamster, etc. Plus you have got to figure that Adam had an extremely high IQ. He came straight from the hand of God, fully programmed. Did you know that he could speak every language in the world? Okay, there was only one language then. The guy could walk, talk, and name all the animals and get married the first day. Adam probably had a super high IQ. No problem for him to name all the animals in a half hour.”

Kent Hovind (1953) American young Earth creationist

Creation seminars (2003-2005), Dinosaurs and the Bible

“Dog, cats, horses, all animals could do this at will much easier than us humans, Rosa and her husband Emilio, had explained to me, because animals were much closer to God than we humans were.”

Victor Villaseñor (1940) American writer

Burro Genius: A Memoir (2004)

“In former days all animals could speak and so could the flowers, the trees and the stones and all lifeless things who were all created by the same God who had created man. Therefore man should be kind to all animals, and treat all lifeless things as if they could still hear and understand. On the day of the Last Judgement the animals would be called in first by God to give evidence against the dead man. Only after the animals had had their say would his fellow creatures be called in as witnesses.”

Axel Munthe book The Story of San Michele

Source: The Story of San Michele (1929), Ch. VII

“I remember my father didn't say very much – he was a very laconic man. When he'd go to a party, he would become very animated. My mother would say – 'Look at him. He never says a word at home and look at him now.”

John Banville (1945) Irish writer

This is how we all are.
John Banville: Who cares whodunnit? (2013)

“The more I got educated about cruelty and inhumane treatment, then it was really a no-brainer [to become a vegetarian]. No one would barbecue their family dog. Why is a cow or a pig different or a chicken different? They're just as much of a gentle animal as a dog or a cat. I just feel stronger, faster, cleaner, healthier.”

Mike Ness (1962) Musician, singer, songwriter, guitarist

"Mike Ness: 'Meat's Not Green'", video interview with peta2 (28 April 2009) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dg73SRrNjA.

“A dog will make eye contact. A cat will, too, but a cat’s eyes don’t even look entirely warm-blooded to me, whereas a dog’s eyes look human except less guarded. A dog will look at you as if to say, “What do you want me to do for you? I’ll do anything for you.” Whether a dog can in fact, do anything for you if you don’t have sheep (I never have) is another matter. The dog is willing.”

Roy Blount Jr. (1941) American writer

“Dogs Vis-A-Vis Cats,” Now Where Were We?, Random House (1989).

“If your eyes could speak, what would they say?.”

Markus Zusak (1975) Australian author

“God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.
Costly grace is the sanctuary of God; it has to be protected from the world, and not thrown to the dogs. It is therefore the living word, the Word of God, which he speaks as it pleases him. Grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) German Lutheran pastor, theologian, dissident anti-Nazi

Source: Costly Grace (1937), p. 49

“If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Mark Twain637

Related quotes

Related topics