“How can God be so cruel to grow love in such hopeless places?”

“How terrible it must be to be a member of the noble class. So many rules. Such restraint. You must feel like a caged bird, battering its wings against the sides of its golden prison.”

“Religion would have us believe that immortality is reserved for the gods. We remain skeptical.”

“Signore, pietà.” Madalena recited the words along with the rest of the congregation. Cass sighed. Everyone else was apologizing to God for their sins, and here she was dreaming up some new ones.”

“The truth never hurts more than finding out someone you love has lied to you.”

““Madness weakens the mind anddisease weakens the body,but nothing destroys the spiritlike the loss of true love.”-THE BOOK OF THE ETERNAL ROSE”

“Civilized beings regard the act of intercourse as the highest expression of romantic love. One need only observe the behavior of animals, however, to realize that the act is often a form of violence.”