Cyrano de Bergerac Quotes

Quote 1: "1st Marquis: Our adorable little poets have arrived.
2nd Marquis: My dear, do you know them intimately?
1st Marquis: Intimately? At least." Act 1, pg. 18

Quote 2: "What if she turns out to be a prude - or an intellectual? I wouldn't dare speak to her, I don't have the brains. The way people speak and write nowadays makes my head hurt. I'm just an honest, simple, terrified soldier." Act 1, pg. 20

Quote 3: "He's famous for his long - sword." Act 1, pg. 21

Quote 4: "Ragueneau: Cyrano de Bergerac, that specter, that paragon,
That terror of trifles from Norway to Aragon,
Both genius and monster, unique, unexplainable,
He has every quirk and every virtue obtainable.
His clothes? As outlandish as his personality-
Three huge plumes for his hat- 'To hell with frugality!'
Bizarrest of all the birds hatched out of Gascony-
Is your cause a lost one? You've only to ask and he
Will rush to defend you with wit and audacity,
With valour beyond mankind's normal capacity,
This dreamer whose vigour, whose kindness, whose verity
Are great as his nose - God forgive my temerity!-
But truly that nose is the glorious cross he bears,
Like some raging sardonic demon's emboss he wears.
I've heard strangers cry, 'Wait - and we'll see it taken off!'
But that man's nasal destiny cannot be shaken of!" Act 1, pg. 22

Quote 5: "Swine! Did I not forbid you to appear?!" Act 1, pg. 27

Quote 6: "Cyrano: My nose is Gargantuan! You little Pig-snout, you tiny Monkey-Nostrils, you virtually invisible Pekinese-Puss, don't you realize that a nose like mine is both sceptre and orb, a monument to me superiority? A great nose is the banner of a great man, a generous heart, a towering spirit, an expansive soul - such as I unmistakably am, and such as you dare not to dream of being, with your bilious weasel's eyes and no nose to keep them apart! With your face as lacking in all distinction - as lacking, I say, in interest, as lacking in pride, in imagination, in honesty, in lyricism - in a word, as lacking in nose as that other offensively bland expanse at the opposite end of your cringing spine - which I now remove from my sight by stringent application of my boot!" Act 1, pg. 34

Quote 7: "My wit is more polished than your moustache. The truth which I speak strikes more sparks from men's hearts than your spurs do from the cobblestones." Act 1, pg. 36

Quote 8: "Cyrano: Thus I toss my poor hat aside,
And shrug off my threadbare cape,
The crowd's eyes are open wide
And many a mouth is agape,
As I take my sword by the nape
And draw out its form so fine
From which there is no escape,
For tonight, Valvert - you are mine!
Too bad that you chose to deride
This vicious old Bergerac ape
(My teeth are as hard as my hide),
Yet when you are dead I will drape
Your corpse with the finest of crepe,
So that all know your taste was 'divine,'
Though you should have avoided a scrape
With the master - for now, you are mine!
I must find now a sharp rhyme for 'pride'-
You're panting, you're red as a grape!
Is that ardor or terror inside?
What began as a lark, as a jape,
Now concludes with a rout, with a rape,
With your virginal courage supine,
As a puddle on honour's landscape-
Turn around, little girl - you are mine!
Final Chorus:
It's a shame, sir, to alter a shape
As refined, as expensive as thine,
But, to spare you life's endless red tape,
I will edit you - There you are mine!" Act 1, pg. 38-9

Quote 9: "Le Bret: To Pay off a pack of actors - what silliness! Cyrano: Ah, but what style!" Act 1, pg. 40

Quote 10: "Cuigy: But - one hundred- Cyrano: I know. I outnumber them, but I shall go gently with them at first." Act 1, pg. 45

Quote 11: "Does it seem strange: a hundred cutthroats against one poor poet? It is not strange. It is a minimal defense, mademoiselle- (Drawing his sword; quietly.) -when that poet is a friend of Cyrano de Bergerac." Act 1, pg. 47

Quote 12: "Cyrano: I had no worthy opponent. Lise: Lying through you teeth again, as usual! Cyrano: Better than lying through my nose. Now that would be a gargantuan falsehood!" Act 2, pg. 52

Quote 13: "You're a genuinely good man. There aren't many of you left." Act 2, pg. 56

Quote 14: "Roxane: His face is like yours, burning with spirit and imagination. He is proud and noble and young and fearless and beautiful-
Cyrano:(losing all his colour.) Beautiful!
Roxane: Yes. What's wrong?
Cyrano: With me? Nothing. It's only... only... (Displaying his bandaged hand, with a little smile.) This fatal wound." Act 2, pg. 60

Quote 15: "Ragueneau: Is it all over? Cyrano: Just so." Act 2, pg. 62

Quote 16: "(Hand on the hilt of his sword.) I shall mortalize the lot of you!" Act 2, pg. 65

Quote 17: "I would die at the stake rather than change a semi-colon!" Act 2, pg. 67

Quote 18: "De Guiche: Remember: they make formidable enemies.
Cyrano: Do they? Those large empty machines which twist and turn in every gust of fashion?
De Guiche: Beware: they can gather you easily in their lofty arms and hurl you down to the gutter!
Cyrano: Or up, into the stars!" Act 2, pg. 69

Quote 19: "It is addressed to the bravest, the brainiest, the blondest, the most beautiful woman on earth! How could she think it was meant for anyone but her?" Act 2, pg. 78

Quote 20: "De Guiche: You're not totally immune to me, are you? (Roxane smiles cryptically.) Why else would you concoct such a delicious revenge? It must be a gesture of love.
Roxane: Believe me, it is." Act 3, pg. 85

Quote 21: "Cyrano: Yes, it is perfect. Your white gown swathed in the blue-black mantle of night. I am only a voice, and you are a point of light. I may have spoken Beautifully to you in the past-
Roxane: You know you have-
Cyrano: Because I have been forced to speak through-
Roxane: Through what?
Cyrano: Through the whirlwind which your eyes stir up inside me. But now, in this blessed darkness, I feel I am speaking to you for the first time.
Roxane: It's true, even your voice has changed." Act 3. pg. 93

Quote 22: "Cyrano: And what is a kiss, specifically? A pledge properly sealed, a promise seasoned to taste, a vow stamped with the immediacy of a lip, a rosy circle drawn around the verb "to love." A kiss is a message too intimate for the ear, infinity captured in the bee's brief visit to a flower, secular communication with an aftertaste of heaven, the pulse rising from the heart to utter its name on a lover's lip: 'Forever.'" Act 3, pg. 97

Quote 23: "Cyrano: God's whiskers! Your face is hideous as the demon's in my storybook!
De Guiche: (Touching his mask.) You mean this?
Cyrano: (His teeth chattering.) Have I fallen into Hell?
De Guiche: It's only a mask.
Cyrano: (Calming down a little.) So, are you dressed up for Carnival?
De Guiche: (Again trying to step around him.) No, for a rendezvous with a young lady.
Cyrano: (Hanging on to him.) Aha! Then this must be Paris!" Act 3, pg. 97

Quote 24: "Cyrano: I'll do what I can. I cannot promise-
Roxane: Promise me he will be careful!
Cyrano: At the front?
Roxane: Promise me that he won't catch cold!
Cyrano: I'll lend him a blanket.
Roxane: And that he'll be faithful!
Cyrano: He's just taken a vow to do that.
Roxane: And that he will write to me, every single day!
Cyrano: (Turns back, looks at her.) That I do promise. With all my heart." Act 3, pg. 107

Quote 25: "Cyrano: There. There is our soul. The same reed, the same fingers which have piped us into combat, call us softly home, in our thoughts. This is no longer the shrill call to attack, it is every shepherd who ever inhabited our land, whispering his sheep to fold. Listen. It is your hillside, your earth, your forest - your younger brother, suntanned under his red woolen cap. It is the green solitude of nights you spent beside the Sordogne. Listen my countrymen. It is our country calling." Act 4, pg. 113

Quote 26: "De Guiche: Nevertheless, I saved the day! Cyrano: You saved your life. At the expense of your honour." Act 4, pg. 116

Quote 27: "From the King of Kings - Love" Act 4, pg. 121

Quote 28: "De Guiche: No! I never intended-
Roxane: Oh, don't take it so hard. I drove into this madness. Every woman needs a little madness in her life.
Cyrano: Remarkable. You're as casual about death as if it were the theatre.
Roxane: I am your cousin, Monsieur de Bergerac." Act 4, Page 123

Quote 29: "Christian: Cyrano?
Cyrano: What now? You look as pale as death.
Christian: She doesn't love me.
Cyrano: What?
Christian: She loves you
Cyrano: What?
Christian: She told me, "I love only your soul."
Cyrano: What?
Christian: You are the soul she loves. And you love her too.
Cyrano: What?
Christian: I know you do.
Cyrano: Yes, I do.
Christian: Madly.
Cyrano: More than that.
Christian: Tell her.
Cyrano: Never.
Christian: Why not?
Cyrano: Tell her? With this face?
Christian: She said, "If you were ugly, I would only love you more."
Cyrano: She said that?
Christian: Yes." Act 4, pg. 133-4

Quote 30: "Cyrano: Roxane-
Roxane: It was you!
Cyrano: No, Roxane, not true-
Roxane: Yes, that is the way my love spoke my name.
Cyrano: No! It was not I-
Roxane: It was always you!
Cyrano: I swear to you-
Roxane: How obvious it is now - the gift you gave him. All those letters, they were you.
Cyrano: No!
Roxane: All those beautiful powerful words, they were you!
Cyrano: No.
Roxane: The voice from the shadows, that was you.
Cyrano: How can I convince you-?
Roxane: You always loved me!
Cyrano: He always loved you!
Roxane: But not as you do!" Act 5, pg. 153

Quote 31: "Ragueneau: Oh, my colleague - we laughed - we laughed-! Cyrano: Well, my greatest victories were won under an assumed name." Act 5, pg. 155

Quote 32: "Cyrano: I know, you will leave me with nothing - neither the laurel nor the rose. Take it all then! There is one possession I take with me from this place. Tonight when I stand before God - and bow low to him, so that my forehead brushes his footstool, the firmament - I will stand again and proudly show Him that one pure possession - which I have never ceased to cherish or to share with all-
(Swinging his sword high again.)
-and that is-
(The sword escapes from his grasp. He shudders and falls back. Le Bret and Ragueneau catch him and lower him gently to the earth.)
Roxane: (Rushes to him, kneels, kisses his forehead.) And that is...?
Cyrano: (Opens his eyes, sees her and smiles.) My enormous - panache." Act 5, pg. 157