John Steinbeck

"It is my experience that in some areas [my poodle] Charley is more intelligent that I am, but in others he is abysmally ignorant. He can't read, can't drive a car, and has no grasp of mathematics. But in his own field of endeavor, which he is now practicing, the slow, imperial smelling over and anointing on an area, he has no peer. Of course his horizons are limited, but how wide are mine?"

10 likes

Source: John Steinbeck (2009). “The Short Novels of John Steinbeck: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)”, p.413, Penguin

About the author

John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck

Novelist, Journalist

John Steinbeck was an American author known for his poignant depictions of social issues, particularly in works like 'The Grapes of Wrath'.

All quotes by John Steinbeck →

Same author

More quotes by John Steinbeck

See all →
John Steinbeck Novelist, Journalist

"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires."

Read quote
John Steinbeck Novelist, Journalist

"It has always seemed strange to me... the things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second."

Read quote