Quotes

John Newton: Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly. I'm a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.

William Wilberforce: I want you to remember that smell... remember the Madagascar... remember, God made men equal.

Pitt the Younger: As your Prime Minister, I urge you caution

William Wilberforce: And as my friend?

Pitt the Younger: To hell with caution.

Barbara Wilberforce: You still have passion! That matters more!

Thomas Clarkson: [to the baby in his arms] "Strange treasures in this fair world appear, strange all, and new to me." That is a poem by Thomas Traherne and I have absolutely no idea what it's about. But, when I was small I was made to learn it by heart so I don't see why you shouldn't suffer too.

William Wilberforce: [calling] Clarkson! Clarkson!

Thomas Clarkson: Good God, he's got his voice back.

William Wilberforce: No one of our age has ever taken power.

Pitt the Younger: Which is why we're too young to realize certain things are impossible. Which is why we will do them anyway.

John Newton: God sometimes does His work with gentle drizzle, not storms. Drip. Drip. Drip.

William Wilberforce: I'm against flowers in church. What have you to say?

Barbara Wilberforce: I am *for* them.

William Wilberforce: [both pause]

William Wilberforce: [resignedly] As am I.

Oloudaqh Equiano: Your life is a thread. It breaks, or it doesn't break.

Pitt the Younger: Why is it you only feel the thorns in your feet when you stop running?

William Wilberforce: Is that some sort of heavy-handed metaphorical advice for me, Mr. Pitt?

Pitt the Younger: Trouble is, Doctor, he doesn't believe he has a body. Utterly careless of it.

Pitt the Younger: Barbara. You have my deepest condolescences.

Barbara Wilberforce: [feigning seriousness] Thank you.

Pitt the Younger: But do me a favour. Make him eat some of his pets.

Barbara Wilberforce: [picking up rabbit] I rather like them.

Pitt the Younger: I like them, too - in brandy sauce.

Duke of Clarence: Revolution is like the pox. It spreads from person to person.

William Wilberforce: I bow to my honorable friend's superior knowledge and experience in all matters regarding the pox.

Pitt the Younger: I find that the older I get, the more tender I become.

William Wilberforce: You're dressing very simply these days.

John Newton: I'm a simple man.

Henry Thornton: [to Wilber] There's creeping ivy or something like that. You really should see it.

Marianne Thornton: [matter-of-factly] Barbara, you really must go and see it, too.

Richard the Butler: He's an optimist. Bloody incurable.

William Wilberforce: Perhaps we should begin this journey with a first step.

William Wilberforce: Where are you going?

Lord Charles Fox: To look up the word integrity.

William Wilberforce: God has set before me two great objects.

Marianne Thornton: What time did Barbara leave?

William Wilberforce: Late. I mean early.

Barbara Wilberforce: You're discussing politics with your eyes. You might as well do it with your mouths.

William Wilberforce: I never change.

Pitt the Younger: Well, hurrah for you.

John Newton: [through tears] I'm weeping. I couldn't weep till I wrote this.

James Stephen: Don't I get to wash or sleep?

William Wilberforce: Sleep?

James Stephen: You haven't changed at all, William!

James Stephen: It's Latin. Loosely translated, it means... we cheat.

Thomas Clarkson: We don't want any fuss. We just need somebody who is... really, really boring.

Thomas Clarkson: [at Equiano's grave] As you know, Equiano, I rarely drink.

William Wilberforce: You wake me up to give me medicine to help me sleep?

Duke of Clarence: Noblesse oblige.

Lord Tarleton: What the bloody hell does that mean?

Duke of Clarence: It means: my nobility obliges me to recognize the virtue of an exceptional commoner

Lord Tarleton: [walks into what looks like an empty room] Where the hell is everyone?

Lord Charles Fox: Everybody's at the races in Epsom. They were given free tickets. I saved one for you.

[holds up ticket]

Lord Charles Fox: A free gift from William Wilburforce.

[smiles]

John Newton: I wish I could remember all their names. My 20,000 ghosts, they all had names, beautiful African names. We'd call them with just grunts, noises. We were apes, they were human.

[tears up]

William Wilberforce: It's God. I have 10,000 engagements of state today but I would prefer to spend the day out here getting a wet arse, studying dandelions and marveling at... bloody spider's webs.

Richard the Butler: You found God, sir?

William Wilberforce: I think He found me. You have any idea how inconvenient that is? How idiotic it will sound? I have a political career glittering ahead of me, and in my heart I want spider's webs.

Richard the Butler: [sitting down next to WW] "It is a sad fate for a man to die too well known to everybody else and still unknown to himself." Francis Bacon. I don't just dust your books, sir.

Barbara Wilberforce: The people aren't so afraid, now the war in France is being won. And when they stop being afraid they rediscover their compassion.

Henry Thornton: Come, we're late.

William Wilberforce: The water has been here a million years, how can we be late?

William Wilberforce: An imperfect order is better than no order at all.

Thomas Clarkson: No! We must fight for a perfect order!