"At my signal, unleash hell."

"What we do in life, echoes in eternity."

"Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?"

"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."

"The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Striking story!"

"You would fight me?"

"Why not? Do you think I am afraid?"

"I think you've been afraid all your life."

"Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back."

"I wonder, did your friend smile at his own death?"

"You must know. He was your father."

"You loved my father, I know. But so did I. That makes us brothers, doesn't it? Smile for me now, brother."

"There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish, it was so fragile."

"I am dying, Maximus. When a man sees his end... he wants to know there was some purpose to his life."

"How will the world speak my name in years to come? Will I be known as the philosopher? The warrior? The tyrant?"

"Your faults as a son is my failure as a father."

"Father. I would have butchered the whole world... if you would only love me!"

"Am I not merciful?"

"The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the Senate, it's the sand of the Colosseum."

"He'll bring them death, and they will love him for it."

"Today I saw a slave become more powerful than the Emperor of Rome."

"Is Rome worth one good man's life?"

"He was a soldier of Rome. Honor him."

"I will see you again... but not yet... not yet."

"Can they hear you?"

"To my son - I tell him I will see him again soon. To keep his heels down while riding his horse. To my wife... that is not your business."

"You have a great name. He must kill your name before he kills you."

"Three weeks from now, I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so."

"If you find yourself alone, riding in the green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you're already dead!"

"Brothers, what we do in life... echoes in eternity."

"Five thousand of my men are out there in the freezing mud. Three thousand of them are bloodied and cleaved. Two thousand will never leave this place. I will not believe that they fought and died for nothing."

"They fought for you and for Rome."

"I've seen much of the rest of the world. It is brutal and cruel and dark. Rome is the light."

"Listen to me. Learn from me. I was not the best because I killed quickly. I was the best because the crowd loved me. Win the crowd and you will win your freedom."

"Ultimately, we're all dead men. Sadly, we cannot choose how, but...we can decide how we meet that end, so that we are remembered...as men."

"We mortals are but shadows and dust."

"Those giraffes you sold me, they won't mate. They just walk around, eating, and not mating. You sold me... queer giraffes. I want my money back."

"Proximo, are you in danger of becoming a good man?"

"When was the last time you were home?"

"Two years, two hundred and sixty-four days and this morning."

"He sleeps so well because he is loved."

"I don't pretend to be a man of the people. But I do try to be a man for the people."

"He enters Rome like a conquering hero. But what has he conquered?"

"Give him time, Gracchus. He's young, he may do very well."

"For Rome, Falco? Or for you?"

"I want to help you."

"Yes, you can help me. Forget you ever knew me, and never come back here again."

"People should know when they are conquered."

"Would you, Quintus? Would I?"

"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to."

"My name is Gladiator."

"How dare you show your back to me! Slave, you will remove your helmet and tell me your name."

"You sold me queer giraffes."

"The frost, it sometimes makes the blade stick."

"Ancestors, I ask you for your guidance. Blessed mother, come to me with the Gods' desire for my future."

"Whisper to them that I live only to hold them again, for all else is dust and air."

"Ancestors, I honor you and will try to live with the dignity that you have taught me."

"I am required to kill, so I kill. That is enough."

"That's enough for the provinces, but not for Rome."

"Whatever comes out of these gates, we've got a better chance of survival if we work together. Do you understand? If we stay together, we survive."

"You know dirt cleans off a lot easier than blood, Quintus."

"There is always someone left to fight."

"Let me go home."

"Won't you accept this great honor that I have offered you?"

"With all my heart, no."

"Maximus, that is why it must be you."

"Father, congratulations. I shall sacrifice a hundred bulls to honor your triumph."

"Save the bulls. Honor Maximus. He won the battle."

"Are you ready to do your duty for Rome?"

"Yes, father."

"You will not be emperor."

"Which wiser, older man is to take my place?"

"My powers will pass to Maximus, to hold in trust until the Senate is ready to rule once more."

"You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues: Wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance. As I read the list, I knew I had none of them. But I have other virtues, father. Ambition."

"One kind word, one full hug where you pressed me to your chest and held me tight. Would have been like the sun on my heart for a thousand years. What is it in me that you hate so much?"

"Let us pretend that you are a loving daughter, and I am a good father."

"This is a pleasant fiction, is it not?"

"You would be amazed at what you can endure."

"They said you were a giant. They said you could crush a man's skull with one hand."

"A man's? No. A boy's?"

"My brother hates all the world and you most of all."

"Because your father chose me."

"No. Because my father loved you. And because I loved you."

"Strength and honor."

"It vexes me. I'm terribly vexed."

"We who are about to die salute you."

"You risk too much."

"I have much to pay for."

"You have nothing to pay for."

"I may die here in this cell tonight or in the arena tomorrow. I'm a slave! What possible difference can I make?"

"The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end. Highness."

"Some are good for fighting, others for dying. You need both, I think."

"What do you want?"

"This is your chance to become a great man."

"We are all heroes on the inside."

"Life is simpler for a soldier."

"The crowd doesn't want a butcher, they want a hero."

"Some of you are thinking that you won't fight. Others that you can't fight. They all say that until they're out there."

"You have proven your valor once again, Maximus. Let us hope for the last time."

"Now we are free. I will see you again... but not yet... not yet."