Manava Dharmashastra 1.96

1.96

bhūtānāṃ prāṇinaḥ śreṣṭhāḥ prāṇināṃ buddhijīvinaḥ
buddhimatsu narāḥ śreṣṭhā nareṣu brāhmaṇāḥ smṛtāḥ //

Of created beings the most excellent are said to be those which are animated; of the animated, those which subsist by intelligence; of the intelligent, mankind; and of men, the Brahmanas;