"He smelled the garden, the yellow shield of light smote his eyes, and he whispered, "Life is so beautiful."

...

Yet, he thought, if I can die saying, "Life is so beautiful," then nothing else is important."
— Mario Puzo (The Godfather)

"Why should I be afraid now? Strange men have come to kill me ever since I was twelve years old."
— Mario Puzo (The Godfather)

"Tom, don't let anybody kid you. It's all personal, every bit of business. Every piece of shit every man has to eat every day of his life is personal. They call it business. OK. But it's personal as hell. You know where I learned that from? The Don. My old man. The Godfather. If a bolt of lightning hit a friend of his the old man would take it personal. He took my going into the Marines personal. That's what makes him great. The Great Don. He takes everything personal Like God. He knows every feather that falls from the tail of a sparrow or however the hell it goes? Right? And you know something? Accidents don't happen to people who take accidents as a personal insult."
— Mario Puzo (The Godfather)

""No, that's not possible," Michael said. "Killed, yes; jail, no.""
— Mario Puzo (The Godfather)