Quotes

Pride is the greatest hindrance to the progress of the Soul. Moderation is the greatest virtue, and wisdom is to speak the truth and to act in accordance with nature, while continuously attending to one’s own self.

If happiness lay in bodily pleasures, we would call oxen happy when they find vetch to eat.

If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

They had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes.

“Several of them would have protested if they could have found the right arguments.”

His answer to every problem, every setback was “I will work harder!” —which he had adopted as his personal motto.

The distinguishing mark of man is the hand, the instrument with which he does all his mischief.

All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.

The Seven Commandments: Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. No animal shall wear clothes. No animal shall sleep in a bed. No animal shall drink alcohol. No animal shall kill any other animal. All animals are equal.

There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word-- Man.

Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever.

This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half.

Only old Benjamin professed to remember every detail of his long life and to know that things never had been, nor ever could be much better or much worse--hunger, hardship, and disappointment being, so he said, the unalterable law of life.

No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?

Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey.

I have no wish to take life, not even human life.

Windmill or no windmill, life would go on as it had always gone on - that is, badly.

Can you not understand that liberty is worth more than just ribbons?

Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure!

He would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no tail and no flies.