- Cesare Borgia: Where ever I am, two elements are always struggling within me. Beast versus Archangel. More often than not, the beast wins.
- Alessandro Farnese: A beast has no soul. You do.
- Cesare Borgia: My soul is empty.
- Cesare Borgia: Alessandro, I have a confession to make.
- Alessandro Farnese: To me? Have you forgotten, unlike you I am not yet a priest.
- Cesare Borgia: No but you're a drunkard and therefore keep my confidence.
- Alessandro Farnese: More likely I will simply forget, so speak freely.
- Cesare Borgia: I'm consumed by the fever of envy. My brother, our friend the Medici, their lives are in motion. Mine is a stagnant.
- [first lines]
- Johann Burchard: [narrating] July, 1492. Rome and the Papal States are ruled by one authority.
- Pope Innocent VIII: [conducting mass in Latin]
- Johann Burchard: He is advised by the College of Cardinals, comprised of a vicious man, sons, of thrones, ruling families. They all hate each other.
- Pope Innocent VIII: [reading a proclamation] The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. He shall preserve their soul.
- Royal Crier: [turning to and translating aloud for the masses beyond] God will protect us!
- Pope Innocent VIII: We stand before you, Lord, here where so many Pontiffs rest in eternal peace, aware more than ever of our own mortality.
- Royal Crier: We are all going to die! We are all going to die!
- Alessandro Farnese: What does Professor Decio teach? Unlike lust but much like gluttony, envy becomes a sin only if you act upon the impulse.
- Cesare Borgia: But how can I not be envious? Juan will achieve greatness in this life?
- Alessandro Farnese: So will you. By a different route. Cesare, contemplate the other side of your instincts.
- [last lines]
- Cesare Borgia: [narrating] As has been true since the beginning, the value of a human life is worth far less than its weight in gold.
- Francesc Gacet: [the sound of peasants rallying in the streets] We must depart.