Animal Quotes
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.
"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."— Mark Twain
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Meaning of this quote
The contrast imagines a dog as openly talkative and a cat as restrained. It humorously assigns human conversational manners to animals rather than making a literal behavioural claim.
Key takeaway:
Recognize the literary personification behind the comparison.
Origin of the quote
A shortened variant of Philip Gilbert Hamerton's Chapters on Animals, Chapter 4, Cats; also adapted by Agnes Repplier.
Who actually said this?
Likely misattributedThe cited research traces the earlier text and identifies the Twain credit as a misattribution. Do not certify the precise shortened version as Hamerton's verbatim wording.
