“He was numb except for dreading the loss of numbness.”

“Nothing makes us more vulnerable than loneliness except greed.”

“Back at his chair he cannot remember what he was reading. He feels the books beside him to find the one that is warm.”

“Lecter is so lucid, so perceptive; he's trained in psychiatry... and he's a mass murderer.”

“What does he do, Clarice? What is the first and principal thing he does, what need does he serve by killing? He covets. How do we begin to covet? We begin by coveting what we see every day.”

“When Will Graham could open his right eye, he saw the clock and knew where he was- an intensive-care unit. He knew to watch the clock. Its movement assured him that this was passing, would pass. That's what it was there for.”

“He knew that a middle-aged man can be so desperate for wisdom he may try to make some up, and how deadly that can be to a youngster who believes him.”