Laura

“For several thousand years man has been in contact with animals whose character and habits have been deformed by domestication. He has ended by believing that he understands them. All he means by this is that he is able to rely on certain reflex actions which he himself has implanted in them. He will flatter himself at times on the grasp of animal psychology which has brought him the love of the dog and the purr of the cat; and on the strength of such assumptions he approaches the beasts of the jungle. The old tag about nature being an open book is just not true. What nature offers on a first examination may appear to be simple but it is never as simple as it appears.”
― Hans Brick, Jungle, Be Gentle

“The perfect society to which we aspire in theory may become a powerful enemy of the good society we can become in fact.”
― Mark Sagoff, The Economy of the Earth: Philosophy, Law, and the Environment

“Whether the circus travels far up in the North, or down South, whether it takes place in a tent or in a building, it is always the same strange world that knows no distinctions of race or creed -- it is the same fantastic place of glitter, hard work, courage and heartbreak.”
― Patricia Bourne, Thank You, I Prefer Lions

“If you show someone something you've written, you give them a sharpened stake, lie down in your coffin, and say, ‘When you’re ready’.”
― David Mitchell, Black Swan Green