The King of the jungle, and worshipped by the Egyptians, the lion has been one of the most mythic animals throughout history.
Here, we have the best quotes and proverbs about lions ever committed to the page, or screamed in fear.
This is a curated sub-category. Check out our full collection of cat quotes.
The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearted and strenuous effort.Chanakya
If ever you feel like an animal among men, be a lion.Criss Jami
Knowledge is like a lion; it cannot be gently embraced.South African Proverb
It’s better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.Elizabeth Kenny
Who is brave enough to tell the lion that his breath smells?Berber Proverbs
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.Proverbs 28:1
The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself.Augustine of Hippo
Do not try to fight a lion if you are not one yourself.African Proverb
Until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.Zimbabwean Proverb
I was not the lion, but it fell to me to give the lion’s roar.Winston Churchill
The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won’t get much sleep.Woody Allen
A lion among ladies is a most dreadful thing.William Shakespeare
Don’t ask me who’s influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he’s digested, and I’ve been reading all my life.Charles de Gaulle
Familiarity makes the lion more dangerous.Jocelyn Murray
That’s a valiant flea that dares eat his breakfast on the lip of a lion.William Shakespeare
A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.Vernon Howard
Fainthearted animals move about in herds. The lion walks alone in the desert. Let the poet always walk thus.Alfred Victor Vigny
An optimist is someone who gets treed by a lion but enjoys the scenery.Walter Winchell
Fear an ignorant man more than a lion.Turkish Proverb
I never thought much of the courage of a lion tamer. Inside the cage he is at least safe from people.George Bernard Shaw
The lion’s power lies in our fear of him.Nigerian Proverbs
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:1 Peter 5:8
I was the shyest human ever invented, but I had a lion inside me that wouldn’t shut up!Ingrid Bergman
It’s better to be a free dog than a caged lion.Arabian Proverb
Dressed in the lion’s skin, the ass spread terror far and wide.Jean de La Fontaine
Only in art will the lion lie down with the lamb, and the rose grow without thorn.Martin Amis
You can tell a lion from where he dwells.Turkish Proverb
