- Isaac Bloom: Oh, I am rational, inspector. And I hear every day men such as yourself, who would have us believe our journey to truth will set us free. But man has no more desire for truth than a dung beetle. Like any animal, he desires meat and sex. And like any animal who feels himself caged by what he is, he will yearn for anything that lies beyond the bars. Dee called it magic. You call it progress.
- Detective Inspector Edmund Reid: You are a cynic.
- Isaac Bloom: I am a scientist. The only thing as irrational as faith in God is faith in Man.
- Long Susan: [to Rose about their exploitation by men] Doesn't matter how hard we try, does it, girl?
- Detective Inspector Edmund Reid: The naked truth being... ?
- Captain Homer Jackson: That we're born alone, we die alone, and not one thing in between makes a jot of goddamn sense.
- [handing Reid a bottle]
- Captain Homer Jackson: Pray with me.
- [Reid takes it]
- Detective Inspector Edmund Reid: We are caged by what is, you said. But to see no further than the bars... that is a terror I could not endure.