“For a moment he [Doctor Pascal] thought he could see, in a flash, the future of the Rougon-Macquart family, a pack of wild, satiated appetites in the midst of a blaze of gold and blood.”

“A new dynasty is never founded without a struggle. Blood makes good manure. It will be a good thing for the Rougon family to be founded on a massacre, like many illustrious families."--Monsieur de Carnavant”

“If we cannot be contented with our current lives and possessions, then we are feeding an appetite that no amount of money will ever satiate.”

“He [Eugène Rougon] believed exclusively in himself; where another saw reasons, Rougon possessed convictions; he subordinated everything to the incessant aggrandisement of his own ego. Despite being utterly devoid of real self-indulgence, he nevertheless indulged in secret orgies of supreme power.”

“If he or she doesn't see or respect your present value nor your future dream the moment you connected there is little or no chance that he or she will do in future.”

“He ordered a family pack of chicken, and sat and finished it off without any help from anyone else in his family.”