Maeterlinck's Dogs Quotes

“It is certain that they love, that they do not love as we do – let us confess it – that they love better than we do, for their whole lives are at the service of their hearts.
Their love is blind, flawless, absolute and silent; it knows no doubts; and yet it is capable of suffering.
When we reflect that dogs have been known to die of grief, can we pretend that their darkness is without a single irradiating gleam? The instinct that leads them to find their lost master, an instinct which for us has something magical about it, since it renders them capable of accomplishing that which our understanding will never accomplish, are we to deny it all perspicacity? Must we conclude that it is wonderful only because it is quite unconscious and that our human love would have the same invincible power, if it were not overshadowed by our loftier intelligence?”
― Georgette Leblanc-Maeterlinck / Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (Trans.), Maeterlinck's Dogs

“Sorry-looking and unlovely, with a dull coat that has all the appearance of having been clumsily patched, the sponger is generally of medium build, as though he feared that he might occupy more space if he grew bigger and find it even harder to win a place in the world of dogs and men. He is preeminently humble, servile and discreet. He refuses to be snubbed; his skin is impervious to insults; he accepts a kick with an air of compunction.”
― Georgette Leblanc-Maeterlinck / Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (Trans.), Maeterlinck's Dogs

“Maeterlinck is my god; and his shadow is my country.
I have no family, no religion, no principles.
My conscience is enough for me.
I have seen everything and understood everything. I have not wasted my time, as human beings do, in seeking the meaning of life. I discovered it as my birth, it is obedience.”
― Georgette Leblanc-Maeterlinck / Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (Trans.), Maeterlinck's Dogs

“But he surpassed other dogs by possessing greater humanity. His character underwent unexpected changes; it developed; it adopted varying moral philosophies. And is it not something, it is not indeed much, that we can speak of his “character” without smiling? He did not love us as a dog loves, without knowing why; his love was free from sordidness or servility; his hatreds and his passions were always noble”
― Georgette Leblanc-Maeterlinck / Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (Trans.), Maeterlinck's Dogs

“Golaud is a mongrel bull-dog, which is equivalent in the canine world to being without caste; but he is too proud to care what people think of him. He is a serious dog; he is sure of himself; he has weighed everything and formed his own conclusions. If he could speak he would preach. From that pugilistic-looking mouth of his, wise maxims would come forth, together with lectures as wearisome as they would no doubt would be appropriate.”
― Georgette Leblanc-Maeterlinck / Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (Trans.), Maeterlinck's Dogs

“But suddenly, in the distance, a long, plaintive howl rends the silence. Nothing can delay Gaston now: you will soon know why. He bounds toward a string of sausages that festoons the doorway of the shop, seizes two, three of them and falls upon a ham, which he grips by the knuckle-bone; then, intoxicated with the joy of thieving, he clears the wicket at a single bound. … but oh, misfortune! Something tugs at his jaws, the string of sausages gets caught and a shrill bell tinkles, more tragic to Gaston than a funeral knell! The hour of his destiny has struck! Alas, he has to abandon his treasures! He flees; and the alarm is given: “Stop thief! Stop thief!” cries the pork-butcher, running out.”
― Georgette Leblanc-Maeterlinck / Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (Trans.), Maeterlinck's Dogs

“Armchairs. Treacherous divinities, incapable of keeping a secret. Every armchair that I know has betrayed me.

*Golaud occupies armchairs only by stealth. The moment he hears his master’s step, he hastily quits the forbidden seat, but unfortunately a warm hollow invariably denounces his disobedience to orders. What a puzzle for Monsier Poire!”
― Georgette Leblanc-Maeterlinck / Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (Trans.), Maeterlinck's Dogs