“A zoo is a cultural institution. Like a public library, like a museum, it is at the service of popular education and science. And by that token, not much of a money-making venture for the Greater Good and the Greater Profit are not compatible aims.”

“...the Greater Good and the Greater Profit are not compatible aims...”

“Of hunger and thirst, thirst is the greater imperative.”

“Can there be any happiness greater than the happiness of salvation?”

“One might even argue that if an animal could choose with intelligence, it would opt for living in a zoo, since the major difference between a zoo and the wild is the absence of parasites and enemies and the abundance of food in the first, and their respective abundance and scarcity in the second. Think about it yourself. Would you rather be put up at the Ritz with free room service and unlimited access to a doctor or be homeless without a soul to care for you?...But I don't insist. I don't mean to defend zoos. Close them all down if you want (and let us hope that what wildlife remains can survive in what is left of the natural world). I know zoos are no longer in people's good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.”

“If there is a change, it is usually for the lesser rather than the greater; many people seem to lose God along life's way.”

“I know zoos are no longer in people's good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.”