His plain language philosophical, bucolic aphorisms and hapless grammer were widely popular after the Civil War. It is better to know nothing than to know what ain't so. If animals had reason, they would act just as ridiculous as we menfolks do. Common sense is instinct, and enough of it is genius. Plenty of folks are so contrary that if they should fall into the river, they would insist upon floating upstream.
Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.
Scroll down for sources of quotations and special search engines. Keith Mohler, 1994. Louis E. Boone, 1992.