Quotes

I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals

I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn

The gods created certain kinds of beings to replenish our bodies..they are the trees, the plants and the seeds

People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practise. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people, since this has also been done since the earliest times

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated

Vegetarianism serves as the criterion by which we know that the pursuit of moral perfection on the part of humanity is genuine and sincere

Now I can look at you in peace; I don't eat you any more

Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace

The question is not, Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?

There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher animals in their mental faculties... The lower animals, like man, manifestly feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery

If a man's aspiration towards a righteous life are serious, his first act of abstinence is from animal food, because it is plainly immoral as it requires an act contrary to moral feeling, ie., killing - and is called forth only by greed

I have from an early age abjured the use of meat and a time will come when man such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men

True benevolence or compassion, extends itself through the whole of existence and sympathises with the distress of every creature capable of sensation