Hugh Lofting Quotes & Sayings

Dear me, what an unsatisfactory world it was! When one did find a nice kind of life something or somebody always seemed to shove you out of it just as you were beginning to enjoy it. — Hugh Lofting

I don't believe in a lot of baggage. It's such a nuisance. Life's too short to fuss with it. And it isn't really necessary — Hugh Lofting

Great decisions often take no more than a moment in the making. — Hugh Lofting

Money," he said, "is a terrible nuisance. But it's nice not to have to worry. — Hugh Lofting

I make no claim to be an authority on writing or illustrating for children. — Hugh Lofting

The fact that I have been successful merely means that I can write and illustrate in my own way. — Hugh Lofting

Was it the Twilight of Magic? Perhaps. But only today's. Magic could never die while the sun had the power to rise again and man had the wish to seek. — Hugh Lofting

Are they given in exchange for the glory of an African sunrise, for the twilight breeze whispering through the palms, for the green shade of the matted, tangled vines, for the cool, big-starred nights of the desert, for the patter of the waterfall after a hard day's hunt? What, I ask you, are they given in exchange for THESE? Why, a bare cage with iron bars; an ugly piece of dead meat thrust in to them once a day; and a crowd of fools to come and stare at them with open mouths! - No, Stubbins. Lions and tigers, the Big Hunters, should never, never be seen in zoos. — Hugh Lofting

What is war?' I asked.
Oh, it's a messy, stupid business,' he said, 'Two sides wave flags and beat drums and shoot one another dead. It always begins this way, making speeches, talking about rights, and all that sort of thing.'
But what is it for? What do they get out of it?'
I don't know,' he said. 'To tell you the truth, I don't think they know themselves. — Hugh Lofting

There has always been a tendency to classify children almost as a distinct species. — Hugh Lofting

Some people you will always have about you whom you can trust, and no man these days can boast of more than that. Remember them; forget the others. — Hugh Lofting

You stupid piece of warm bacon. — Hugh Lofting

It is a horrible thing, money. But it is also horrible to be the only one who hasn't got any. One of my chief complaints against people
has always been that they had no respect for animals. But many people have a great respect for money. Animals with bank accounts of their own will be in a position to insist upon respect. — Hugh Lofting

If I had my way ... there wouldn't be a single lion or tiger in captivity anywhere in the world. They never take to it. They're never happy. They never settle down ... You can see it in their eyes ... — Hugh Lofting

I suppose once you've been accused of being a witch, you're never really safe. People may blame all sorts of accidents and misfortunes on you. — Hugh Lofting