“I came to Paris with four écus in my pocket, and I’d have fought with anybody who told me I was in no condition to buy the Louvre.”

“Very well, young man, very well," Treville went on, "I know those airs. I came to Paris with four ecus in my pocket, and I'd have fought with anybody who told me I was in no condition to buy the Louvre.”

“At the hospital, I won’t be in fair condition. I’ll be in unfair condition, and I’d appreciate it if you brought me a bouncy ball like the one the nurses will have confiscated.”

“I mean seeing the Elgin marbles this morning gave me the same feeling and I didn’t know, don’t know whether I’m in Rome or Paris. I mean the Louvre and the British Museum hold one together, keep one from going to bits.”

“There before me, staring back from bottomless blackness, was I without my self. On all fours, I stared into my eyes. I came closer, and we kissed. Who knows me best? I am only water.”

“You can have all the wine and dragons that my money can buy. That’s what the old woman told me, and I listened.”