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Top 200 Mario Puzo Quotes (2025 Update)
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Mario Puzo Quote: “Mafia,” in Arabic, means a place of sanctuary, and the word took its place in the Sicilian language when the Saracens ruled the country in the tenth century.”

151. “Mafia,” in Arabic, means a place of sanctuary, and the word took its place in the Sicilian language when the Saracens ruled the country in the tenth century.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Pope Alexander smiled. He seemed more amused with the story than horrified. “The Baglioni are true believers,” he said. “They believe in paradise. Such a great gift. How otherwise can man bear this moral life? Unfortunately, such a belief also gives evil men the courage to commit great crimes in the name of good and God.”

152. “Pope Alexander smiled. He seemed more amused with the story than horrified. “The Baglioni are true believers,” he said. “They believe in paradise. Such a great gift. How otherwise can man bear this moral life? Unfortunately, such a belief also gives evil men the courage to commit great crimes in the name of good and God.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “He said to the cardinal, “I’m a peasant, not instructed in the ways of heaven. But I have never broken my word. And you, a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, with all your holy garments and crosses of Jesus, lied to me like a heathen Moor. Your sacred office alone will not save your life.”

153. “He said to the cardinal, “I’m a peasant, not instructed in the ways of heaven. But I have never broken my word. And you, a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, with all your holy garments and crosses of Jesus, lied to me like a heathen Moor. Your sacred office alone will not save your life.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “A man who commits a criminal act exercises the power of God over another human being. Then it becomes the decision of the victim whether to accept this other god in his life.”

154. “A man who commits a criminal act exercises the power of God over another human being. Then it becomes the decision of the victim whether to accept this other god in his life.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Raw brilliance needs long years of hard work to develop properly.”

155. “Raw brilliance needs long years of hard work to develop properly.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “I cannot wait an eternity for happiness.”

156. “I cannot wait an eternity for happiness.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Don had made a fewer mistakes and learned from every one of them.”

157. “Don had made a fewer mistakes and learned from every one of them.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “All of these men were good listeners, patient men. They had one other thing in common. They were those rarities, men who had refused to accept the rule of organized society, men who refused the dominion of other men. There was no force, no mortal man who could bend them to their will unless they wished it. They were men who guarded their free will with wiles and murder. Their wills could be subverted only by death. Or the utmost reasonableness.”

158. “All of these men were good listeners, patient men. They had one other thing in common. They were those rarities, men who had refused to accept the rule of organized society, men who refused the dominion of other men. There was no force, no mortal man who could bend them to their will unless they wished it. They were men who guarded their free will with wiles and murder. Their wills could be subverted only by death. Or the utmost reasonableness.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Everything went right for him until that final year. Then why didn’t he recover? Change or die he once said. That was what life was all about. And he simply couldn’t change.”

159. “Everything went right for him until that final year. Then why didn’t he recover? Change or die he once said. That was what life was all about. And he simply couldn’t change.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “How I would like that now, that sheer senseless falling in love with externals, the love never earned by qualities of goodness, of character, of intelligence, of wit, of charm, of life-force. In short, how I would like to be loved in a way never earned so that I would never have to keep earning it or work for it.”

160. “How I would like that now, that sheer senseless falling in love with externals, the love never earned by qualities of goodness, of character, of intelligence, of wit, of charm, of life-force. In short, how I would like to be loved in a way never earned so that I would never have to keep earning it or work for it.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Michael looked around the beautiful garden with its many colored flowers, fragrant lemon trees, the old statures of the gods dug from ancient ruins, other newer ones of holy saints, the rose-colored walls across the villa. It was a lovely setting for the examination of twelve murderous apostles.”

161. “Michael looked around the beautiful garden with its many colored flowers, fragrant lemon trees, the old statures of the gods dug from ancient ruins, other newer ones of holy saints, the rose-colored walls across the villa. It was a lovely setting for the examination of twelve murderous apostles.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Sometimes I’d see a movie in a private screening room. No fun. People took phone calls and messages while watching. Made jokes, talked. When I go to a movie I’m a true believer. Or I just walk out.”

162. “Sometimes I’d see a movie in a private screening room. No fun. People took phone calls and messages while watching. Made jokes, talked. When I go to a movie I’m a true believer. Or I just walk out.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “What manner of men are we then, if we do not have our reason,” he said. “We are all no better than beasts in a jungle if that were the case. But we have reason, we can reason with each other and we can reason with ourselves. To what purpose would I start all these troubles again, the violence and the turmoil?”

163. “What manner of men are we then, if we do not have our reason,” he said. “We are all no better than beasts in a jungle if that were the case. But we have reason, we can reason with each other and we can reason with ourselves. To what purpose would I start all these troubles again, the violence and the turmoil?”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Never make a threat. Reason with people.” The word “reason” sounded so much better in Italian, ragione, to rejoin. The art of this was to ignore all insults, all threats; to turn the other cheek.”

164. “Never make a threat. Reason with people.” The word “reason” sounded so much better in Italian, ragione, to rejoin. The art of this was to ignore all insults, all threats; to turn the other cheek.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “When he wrote about class, he claimed that people with a great deal of money had to be cruel and defensive, and that the poor ought to become criminals since they had to fight laws written by the rich to protect their money. He wrote that all welfare was simply a necessary bribe to keep the poor from starting a revolution. About religion, he wrote that it should be prescribed like medication.”

165. “When he wrote about class, he claimed that people with a great deal of money had to be cruel and defensive, and that the poor ought to become criminals since they had to fight laws written by the rich to protect their money. He wrote that all welfare was simply a necessary bribe to keep the poor from starting a revolution. About religion, he wrote that it should be prescribed like medication.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “That is Sicily,” the Don said. “There is always treachery within treachery.”

166. “That is Sicily,” the Don said. “There is always treachery within treachery.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Never get angry,′ the Don had instructed. ‘Never make a threat. Reason with people.”

167. “Never get angry,′ the Don had instructed. ‘Never make a threat. Reason with people.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Nothing was going to stop him from owning this girl, possessing her, locking her in a house and keeping her prisoner only for himself.”

168. “Nothing was going to stop him from owning this girl, possessing her, locking her in a house and keeping her prisoner only for himself.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “The promised reward of heaven is too far away, men must have some pleasure now. God will forgive them.”

169. “The promised reward of heaven is too far away, men must have some pleasure now. God will forgive them.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Don Tommasino also controlled the water rights in the area and vetoed the local building of any new dams by the Roman government. Such dams would ruin the lucrative business of selling water from the artesian wells he controlled, make water too cheap, ruin the whole important water economy so laboriously built up over hundreds of years.”

170. “Don Tommasino also controlled the water rights in the area and vetoed the local building of any new dams by the Roman government. Such dams would ruin the lucrative business of selling water from the artesian wells he controlled, make water too cheap, ruin the whole important water economy so laboriously built up over hundreds of years.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “He was in extremis. He smelled the garden, the yellow shield of light smote his eyes, and he whispered, “Life is so beautiful.”

171. “He was in extremis. He smelled the garden, the yellow shield of light smote his eyes, and he whispered, “Life is so beautiful.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “You cannot say ‘no’ to the people you love, not often. That’s the secret. And then when you do, it has to sound like a ’yes.”

172. “You cannot say ‘no’ to the people you love, not often. That’s the secret. And then when you do, it has to sound like a ’yes.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Don Corleone was too weak to speak much but he wished to listen and exercise veto powers.”

173. “Don Corleone was too weak to speak much but he wished to listen and exercise veto powers.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Don Corleone had promised his godson he would get the part and Don Corleone had never, to Hagen’s knowledge, broken his word in such matters.”

174. “Don Corleone had promised his godson he would get the part and Don Corleone had never, to Hagen’s knowledge, broken his word in such matters.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “And so on that bright morning, the smoky Sicilian sun making them sweat, the six Mafia chiefs rode their horses up and down along the wall surrounding Prince Ollorto’s estate. The assembled peasants, under olive trees older than Christ, watched these six men, famous all over Sicily for their ferocity. They waited as if hoping for some miracle, too fearful to move forward.”

175. “And so on that bright morning, the smoky Sicilian sun making them sweat, the six Mafia chiefs rode their horses up and down along the wall surrounding Prince Ollorto’s estate. The assembled peasants, under olive trees older than Christ, watched these six men, famous all over Sicily for their ferocity. They waited as if hoping for some miracle, too fearful to move forward.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “All Sicilians are good eaters, when there is food to be had, and one of the few jokes people dared to make about Don Croce was that he would rather eat well than kill an enemy.”

176. “All Sicilians are good eaters, when there is food to be had, and one of the few jokes people dared to make about Don Croce was that he would rather eat well than kill an enemy.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “But his Godfather had never said such and such a thing could be done without having it done.”

177. “But his Godfather had never said such and such a thing could be done without having it done.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “He had long ago learned that society imposes insults that must be borne, comforted by the knowledge that in this world there comes a time when the most humble of men, if he keeps his eyes open, can take his revenge on the most powerful.”

178. “He had long ago learned that society imposes insults that must be borne, comforted by the knowledge that in this world there comes a time when the most humble of men, if he keeps his eyes open, can take his revenge on the most powerful.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Any profession was worthy of respect to men who for centuries earned bread by the sweat of their brows.”

179. “Any profession was worthy of respect to men who for centuries earned bread by the sweat of their brows.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “After all, education is the key to a higher civilization.”

180. “After all, education is the key to a higher civilization.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “His appearance was intimidating not from any single feature but from a lifelong habit of presenting a formidable front to the outside world.”

181. “His appearance was intimidating not from any single feature but from a lifelong habit of presenting a formidable front to the outside world.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “You cannot say ‘no’ to the people you love, not often. That’s the secret.”

182. “You cannot say ‘no’ to the people you love, not often. That’s the secret.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Again it was like the English he so much admired, those people who could be so subtly rude that you basked in their insults for days before you realized they had mortally wounded you.”

183. “Again it was like the English he so much admired, those people who could be so subtly rude that you basked in their insults for days before you realized they had mortally wounded you.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “The two men, one so huge, one so tiny, left the cemetery together. Terraced gardens girdled the sides of the surrounding mountains with green ribbons, great white rocks gleamed, a tiny red hawk of Sicily rode down toward them on a shaft of sunlight.”

184. “The two men, one so huge, one so tiny, left the cemetery together. Terraced gardens girdled the sides of the surrounding mountains with green ribbons, great white rocks gleamed, a tiny red hawk of Sicily rode down toward them on a shaft of sunlight.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Christian forgiveness was a contemptible refuge of the coward.”

185. “Christian forgiveness was a contemptible refuge of the coward.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Ah, we love where we are born, we Sicilians, but Sicily does not love us.”

186. “Ah, we love where we are born, we Sicilians, but Sicily does not love us.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “I was forty-five years old and tired of being an artist. Besides, I owed $20,000 to relatives, finance companies, banks and assorted bookmakers and shylocks. It was really time to grow up and sell out as Lenny Bruce once advised. So I told my editors ‘OK, I’ll write a book about the mafia, just give me some money to get started’.”

187. “I was forty-five years old and tired of being an artist. Besides, I owed $20,000 to relatives, finance companies, banks and assorted bookmakers and shylocks. It was really time to grow up and sell out as Lenny Bruce once advised. So I told my editors ‘OK, I’ll write a book about the mafia, just give me some money to get started’.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “With children he was playful in that particularly spiteful Sicilian style which is one of the less pleasant sides of the island character; he would nip their ears with his scissors and sometimes cut their hair so short that their heads looked like billiard balls.”

188. “With children he was playful in that particularly spiteful Sicilian style which is one of the less pleasant sides of the island character; he would nip their ears with his scissors and sometimes cut their hair so short that their heads looked like billiard balls.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “The mouth was not so much cruel as lifeless; thin, rubbery and the color of veal.”

189. “The mouth was not so much cruel as lifeless; thin, rubbery and the color of veal.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “The victory of the Corleone Family was complete. During that same twenty-four-hour period Clemenza and Lampone turned loose their regimes and punished the infiltrators of the Corleone domains.”

190. “The victory of the Corleone Family was complete. During that same twenty-four-hour period Clemenza and Lampone turned loose their regimes and punished the infiltrators of the Corleone domains.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “He felt that flush of antagonism a poor man feels for a rich woman who is in some way asserting her superiority to him because of a wealth and social position.”

191. “He felt that flush of antagonism a poor man feels for a rich woman who is in some way asserting her superiority to him because of a wealth and social position.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “The government in Rome with its legal forms demanded the truth. The priest in the confessional box commanded the truth under pain of everlasting hell. But truth was a source of power, a lever of control, why should anyone give it away?”

192. “The government in Rome with its legal forms demanded the truth. The priest in the confessional box commanded the truth under pain of everlasting hell. But truth was a source of power, a lever of control, why should anyone give it away?”

Mario Puzo Quote: “At one of these shrines, Michael saw a woman on her knees praying, her husband sitting in their donkey-drawn cart guzzling a bottle of wine. The donkey’s head dropped like a martyr’s.”

193. “At one of these shrines, Michael saw a woman on her knees praying, her husband sitting in their donkey-drawn cart guzzling a bottle of wine. The donkey’s head dropped like a martyr’s.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “At this point Frisella, the barber, came out of his shop to join in the fun. Behind him was the Maresciallo, pompous and important, rubbing his smooth red face. He was the only man in Montelepre who had himself shaved every day.”

194. “At this point Frisella, the barber, came out of his shop to join in the fun. Behind him was the Maresciallo, pompous and important, rubbing his smooth red face. He was the only man in Montelepre who had himself shaved every day.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “But there were too many factions, too many special interests that conflicted.”

195. “But there were too many factions, too many special interests that conflicted.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Why couldn’t he get a straight answer from any of them? Because this was Sicily, he thought. Sicilians had a horror of truth.”

196. “Why couldn’t he get a straight answer from any of them? Because this was Sicily, he thought. Sicilians had a horror of truth.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “My only business is to save souls in danger of hell. What a man does is his own business.”

197. “My only business is to save souls in danger of hell. What a man does is his own business.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “You are alive and he is dead. Always remember that and live your life not to be a hero but to remain alive.”

198. “You are alive and he is dead. Always remember that and live your life not to be a hero but to remain alive.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “Like any other parent he wanted his children to go to better schools and mix with better companions.”

199. “Like any other parent he wanted his children to go to better schools and mix with better companions.”

Mario Puzo Quote: “The fabulous land where there was justice for the poor, where the government was not the lackey of the rich, where the penniless Sicilians rose to riches simply by good honest labor.”

200. “The fabulous land where there was justice for the poor, where the government was not the lackey of the rich, where the penniless Sicilians rose to riches simply by good honest labor.”

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