- Hélène: [Walking through a cavern] You must understand that the instincts, the feelings, and even the intelligence of Cro-Magnon man was definitely human. The only differences to the problem were his needs to survive.
- Student: What does "survive" mean?
- Hélène: It means to stay alive. He began to draw. Do you know what we call desires when they lose their savage quality? Aspirations. If Cro-Magnon had not survived, the world in which we live wouldn't exist.
- Hélène: A crime is awful! Think of the poor girl!
- Popaul: I've seen a corpse or two - their heads in the wind, cut in half, mouth open. I've seen three or four piled together. Kids with their eyes punctured. Indo-Chinese as old as Madame Tirrant completely torn to bits. I've seen pals of mine rotting in the sun, being eaten by maggots.
- Butcher shop customer: Yes, war is a horrible thing. That's a fact, but murder like this - it's barbaric!
- Popaul: We counted corpses by the truckload, so... I'm rambling.
- Charles: A train leaves Orleans at 2:37. It runs at 50 mph for the first 30 miles, then at 70 mph for the rest of the journey. Another train leaves Toulouse at 2:43. It runs at 40 mph for the first 50 miles, and at 76 mph after. the two trains meet at 5:45, how far is Toulouse from Orleans? Do you know how far? That's a help.
- [pause]
- Charles: You don't know how far?
- Popaul: I never have understood those problems.