Hannibal Lecter Quotes

I do wish we could chat longer, but… I’m having an old friend for dinner.

Well, Clarice – have the lambs stopped screaming?

We begin by coveting what we see every day.

A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

The tragedy is not to die, but to be wasted.

I find you quite interesting, Clarice. You’re tough, not as tough as I am, of course, but then, who is?

We live in a primitive time, don’t we, Will? Neither savage nor wise. Half measures are the curse of it.

I’m not so sure who’s wearing the mask, Will.

I’ve always found the idea of death comforting. The thought that my life could end at any moment frees me to fully appreciate the beauty and artistry of the world.

I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner. Bye.

You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste. Good nutrition has given you some length of bone, but you’re not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling?

We live in a primitive time. We’re not barbarians. We’re lucky. We’ve forgotten that.

I have no taste for animal cruelty, which most certainly does reside in the nature of the beast.

Nothing happened to me. I happened. You can’t reduce me to a set of influences.

A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a big Amarone.

When the fox hears the rabbit screaming, he comes a-runnin’, but not to help.

Though the price of admission was steep, your life is now, finally, about to begin, Will.

You will always be with me, like a handprint on my heart.

There is no progress without the moral implications of our actions.

Brains are interesting. According to my research, they taste like chicken.

I couldn’t think properly while you were talking. Your breath clouded the air.

Knowing that your actions have a profound impact on others is the ultimate power.

You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube.

We begin by coveting what we see every day. Don’t you feel eyes moving over your body, Clarice?

You add a disinfectant to the crime of purpose.

Are the lambs still screaming, Clarice?

The world’s more interesting with you in it.

Evolution has yet to transcend that simple barrier.

We live in a primitive time. We kill people that kill people to show that killing is wrong.

I find you rather fascinating, Will. You’re not as predictable as most people.

You don’t know what pain is. Until you understand what it means to die alone, not just to die alone but to have never been loved.

Without death, life would be meaningless. It is death that gives life its value.

The mind is the only weapon that doesn’t need a holster.

What exactly do you fear, Dr. Lecter?

Do you dream much, Will? What do you dream about?

You’ll learn to appreciate the beauty in the vulgarities of this world.

Are you building yourself a new life, Will – or just avoiding the old one?

You still wake up sometimes, don’t you? Wake up in the dark and hear the screaming of the lambs?

We live in a primitive time, don’t we, Will? Neither savage nor wise. Half measures of the curse of it.

You can’t reduce me to a set of influences. You’ve given up good and evil for behaviorism.

Well, if anyone deserves Castrante, it probably would be Miriam Lass.

There is no greater power in this world than the power of love. Love is the only thing that can transcend reason and logic. It is love that drives me, Will.

The natural state of man is not one of righteousness.

In the world of psychopaths, it takes one to know one.

Do you dream much, Will?

I have to say, Will…I’m impressed. I didn’t think you could go the distance.

You must be careful, Will. It’s not what it looks like. It’s what it feels like.

Revenge is a madness that keeps repeating.

I know them, not because I want to, Hannibal – but because I have to know what they know.

People will say we’re in love.