- [first lines]
- Don Carlo: That boy should be going to school.
- Batistì: Yes but six kilometers to school and six kilometers back seems a lot.
- Don Carlo: He's young, he has strong legs.
- Batistì: Just when we're about to have another baby. He could have started helping me around the house.
- Don Carlo: He'll help you even more when he's older. Let providence provide for now.
- Batistì: I grew up without ever seeing the inside of a school.
- Don Carlo: That's not a good reason, and you know it. If God has given your boy a good mind, it's a sign he's expecting more of him. As the boy's father, it's your duty to do God's bidding.
- Butcher: You're lucky. "A pig in the snow is like wine down below."
- Frichi the peddler: [Frichi, a peddler, shows up with a cart full of various fabrics; peasant women gather 'round] It's Frichi! Frichi is here, ladies! Look at this beautiful, first-rate cloth! Very reasonable prices. Come and admire these beautiful skirts!
- Peasant woman: You going to swindle us like last time?
- Frichi the peddler: Frichi has never swindled anyone! I respect women as much as I respect monkeys!
- Peasant woman: You and your fancy talk!
- Male passenger on boat to Milan: [on the boat to Milan: he tosses some bread crumbs into the water] The crumbs go to the fish... A bit of bread can bring in a basket of fish.
- Elderly passenger on boat to Milan: But you have to be smart about it. There are more fools with fishing poles than there are fish in the water.
- Don Carlo: Dear friends, we wouldn't be here without miracles. Miracles are the power man doesn't have, the power of God's love. We need that love as much as the air we breathe, the land that feeds us, and the water and light that give us life. And the only way we can deserve God's love is by loving our neighbor.
- Frichi the peddler: Highest-quality cloth to make a blouse or skirt for the Feast of Our Lady.
- Peasant woman: If you give me a bargain...
- Frichi the peddler: They're all bargains! You couldn't sell them for less!
- Peasant woman: Is this how you go to Vespers, shameless girl? You say you're off to church then you come here to dance! Sure, laugh! You're all on the brink of Hell! You won't laugh when you're burning in the flames of Hell! Reprobates! You have no fear of God!
- Frichi the peddler: Listen to Frichi. I've been in Africa. I know about monkeys. They reason better than men do. Feel this cloth!
- Peasant woman: All this talk of monkeys just confuses us so he can cheat us!
- Male passenger on boat to Milan: What's the world coming to? There's no respect for others.
- Don Carlo: Above all, try always to love one another. The love between two people is something money can't buy. God says not to seek worldly riches but the blessings of paradise. And remember that paradise begins with the love that we show each other here on earth.
- Batistina: Ladies, I don't know how to thank you.
- Peasant woman: For what? If we don't help each other...
- Don Carlo: As for the two of you, stay alert and keep your wits about you, because people today have strange ideas.
- Luca Maria: [at the convent] Here. We prepared a room for you as best we could. We've never had newlyweds stay before. We're delighted at your blessed union. Marriage is a holy sacrament. May you always be worthy of the blessings of God who brought you together.
- Anselmo: Remember how tiny they were when we planted them? Just look at these beautiful tomatoes now!
- [last lines]
- Peasant woman: Come away from there. It's not nice to stare.
- Oratore Progressista: The social order unfortunately always lags behind the fresh demands of life. Only when knowledge and progress are the possession of all, can we finally speak of reaching new heights in civilization. When greater justice and respect for every citizen's rights become everyday institutions and a way of life practiced by all - when one man no longer enjoys privileges denied to his neighbors, only then can we say we've built a democratic society. Unfortunately, social progress moves slowly, hindered by those who fear it and by the lack of courage and sacrifice of those who nevertheless invoke it as a human right. So most people remain passively in the background, waiting for events to develop in their favor, while a small band of rebels and innovators bravely forges a path. Throughout history all great progress has come from the fervent efforts of an enlightened minority. Always looking toward the future, they seem to be dreaming in the present. But they're not idle dreamers! They do everything they can to change all that is mired in the past and outdated in the human spirit. Fortunately, this minority, rich in intellect and nobility of spirit, never ceases to advance and gather new converts. And those ideas at first considered dangerous or utopian or even simply bizarre are gradually taken up and championed by all. This is how society takes on new life. Science, art, industry, and even politics are transformed. My friends, the old social order is becoming outdated as a new one takes shape on the horizon.