Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: [Taps his glass and stands, saying] Mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and bliss shall kiss one another.
Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: Man, in his weakness and shortsightedness believes he must make choices in this life.
Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: He trembles at the risks he takes. We do know fear. But no. Our choice is of no importance.
Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: There comes a time when our eyes are opened and we come to realize that mercy is infinite.
Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: We need only await it with confidence and receive it with gratitude.
Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: Mercy imposes no conditions.
Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: And lo! Everything we have chosen has been granted to us.
Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: And everything we rejected has also been granted.
Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: Yes, we even get back what we rejected.
Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: For mercy and truth have met together, and righteousness and bliss shall kiss one another.
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Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: [last words to Martina] I have been with you every day of my life. Tell me you know that.
Old Martina: Yes, I know it.
Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: You must also know that I shall be with you every day that is granted to me from now on. Every evening I shall sit down to dine with you. Not with my body, which is of no importance, but with my soul. Because this evening I have learned, my dear, that in this beautiful world of ours, all things are possible.
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Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: [looking at himself in a mirror] Vanity. Vanity. All is vanity.
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Achille Papin: The Emperor will come to hear you, and so will the modest seamstress. You have enough talent to distract the rich and to comfort the poor.
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Old Martina: [after learning Babette spent 10,000 francs on the dinner] Now you'll be poor for the rest of your life.
Babette: An artist is never poor.
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Narrator: At this very moment, he had a mighty vision of a higher and purer life, without creditors' letters or parental lectures... and with a gentle angel at his side.
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Old Lorenz Lowenhielm: Could many years of victories result in defeat?
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