- Temple Franklin: How long must we stay?
- Benjamin Franklin: Until we win France to our side and secure our independence. Or we are hanged.
- Temple Franklin: Is there a third choice?
- Benjamin Franklin: I suppose there's always treason.
- Benjamin Franklin: They have it in their heads that I invented electricity. Who am I to dissuade them?
- Madame Thérése Chaumont: [on her headress topped by a model of a ship] You approve?
- Benjamin Franklin: Madame, I am sorely tempted to climb aboard and man the cannons myself.
- Comte de Vergennes: America is not a nation. Merely a string of little towns trapped between an ocean and the edge of a forest.
- Benjamin Franklin: I come here tonight, not as anyone's father, but as a representative of the United States.
- Comte de Vergennes: I have seen no letter from your Congress. You carry no title. There is only secrecy and go-betweens. Your army has lost nearly every campaign it has fought. What position would you take if you were me?
- Benjamin Franklin: I would illuminate my opponent's weaknesses, expose the futilty of his pursuit, and scheme how I might work the situation to my advantage.
- Comte de Vergennes: Doctor Franklin, I have long admired you. I look forward to the day we meet.
- Benjamin Franklin: For a young man's instruction, Paris is the only city. Must indulge the senses, but also engage the intellect.
- Temple Franklin: What's wrong?
- Benjamin Franklin: Merely thinking.
- Temple Franklin: About what?
- Benjamin Franklin: Roasted pheasant, potatos in butter, candied carrots, chased by a respectable Madeira. And our mission, of course.
- Benjamin Franklin: It's remarkable how one's outlook is improved by the passing of wind.
- Edward Bancroft: A subject woefully understudied.
- Benjamin Franklin: Perhaps I shall rectify that.
- Edward Bancroft: Could only add to your reknown. What is electricity compared to a good fart?