The production of a work of art is determined by the material and intellectual climate in which a man lives and dies. - Hippolyte Taine

[Concerning the love La Fontaine felt for animals] He follows their emotions, he represents their reasonings, he becomes tender, he becomes gay, he participates in their feelings. The fact is, he lived in them. […] The animals contain all the materials of man-sensations, judgments, images.

J'ai beaucoup étudié les philosophes et les chats. La sagesse des chats est infiniment supérieure.

Translation: I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.