How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Mr. Fache, I obviously can't tell you why Mr. Saunière drew that symbol on himself or placed himself in this way, but I can tell you that a man like Jacques Saunière would consider the pentacle a sign of the female deity. The correlation between this symbol and the sacred feminine is widely known by art historians and symbologists."
"Fine. And the use of his own blood as ink?"
"Obviously he had nothing else to write with."
Fache was silent for a moment. "Actually, I believe he used blood such that the police would follow certain forensic procedures."
"I'm sorry?"
"Look at his left hand."
Langdon's eyes traced the length of the curator's pale arm to his left hand but saw nothing. Uncertain, he circled the corpse and crouched down, now noting with surprise that the curator was clutching a large, felt-tipped marker. (6.61-67)
Saunière was scary smart…and a bit demented, when you think about it. Wouldn't they have used a black light even without a blood-painted message? Either way, pretty clever.
Quote #2
Sophie's outgoing message immediately cut off, and Langdon heard an electronic voice announce in French: "You have one new message." Apparently, 454 was Sophie's remote access code for picking up her messages while away from home.
I'm picking up this woman's messages?
Langdon could hear the tape rewinding now. Finally, it stopped, and the machine engaged. Langdon listened as the message began to play. Again, the voice on the line was Sophie's.
"Mr. Langdon," the message began in a fearful whisper. "Do not react to this message. Just listen calmly. You are in danger right now. Follow my directions very closely." (9.50-53)
Sophie has put an insane amount of forethought into helping Langdon—she leaves a message on her own voicemail. That's nuts: especially when you consider the fact that she's just heard about the violent murder of her own grandfather.
Quote #3
"Using Fibonacci numbers was my grandfather's way of waving another flag at me – like writing the message in English, or arranging himself like my favorite piece of art, or drawing a pentacle on himself. All of it was to catch my attention." (20.14)
This is another example of one of Brown's characters having amazing clarity of thought despite some pretty unusual and difficult circumstances. Remember, Saunière was slowly losing blood and dying an excruciating death, and yet, he still was able to write these incredibly complex clues for his estranged granddaughter.
That's pretty amazing. The best we'd be able to do is scrawl "Ouch" in the dust on the floor.
Quote #4
Her shock over the anagram was matched only by her embarrassment at not having deciphered the message herself. Sophie's expertise in complex cryptanalysis had caused her to overlook simplistic word games, and yet she knew she should have seen it. After all, she was no stranger to anagrams – especially in English. (21.3)
We've all been there, when we're trying so hard to solve something that we miss the easy answer.
Quote #5
As Silas read the words on the tablet, he felt surprise. He had expected the keystone to be a map, or a complex series of directions, perhaps even encoded. The keystone, however, bore the simplest of inscriptions.
Job 38: 11
A Bible verse? Silas was stunned with the devilish simplicity. The secret location of that which they sought was revealed in a Bible verse? The brotherhood stopped at nothing to mock the righteous! (29.8-10)
Little does he know…they're still mocking him. That verse turns out to say, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further." Oooh, burn!
Quote #6
Sophie guided Langdon toward the ticket window and said, "Buy us two tickets with your credit card."
"I thought credit card usage could be traced by—"
"Exactly."
[…]
Sophie guided him out toward the tracks, where a familiar tone chimed overhead and a P.A. announcer gave the final boarding call for Lyon. Sixteen separate tracks spread out before them. In the distance to the right, at quay three, the train to Lyon was belching and wheezing in preparation for departure, but Sophie already had her arm through Langdon's and was guiding him in the exact opposite direction. They hurried through a side lobby, past an all-night café, and finally out a side door onto a quiet street on the west side of the station.
A lone taxi sat idling by the doorway. (35.6-13)
Once again, Sophie proves herself to be a criminal mastermind. The speed at which she concocts these plans almost defies belief, but the consistency with which she hatches these schemes makes them seem almost plausible.
Quote #7
Aringarosa walked to the end of the table and opened the briefcase. Inside were two thick stacks of bonds, each embossed with the Vatican seal and the title PORTATORE, making the bonds redeemable to whoever was holding them.
The secretariat looked tense. "I must say, Bishop, all of us would feel less apprehensive if these funds were in cash."
I could not lift that much cash, Aringarosa thought, closing the case. "Bonds are negotiable as cash. You said so yourself."
The cardinals exchanged uneasy looks, and finally one said, "Yes, but these bonds are traceable directly to the Vatican Bank."
Aringarosa smiled inwardly. That was precisely the reason the Teacher suggested Aringarosa get the money in Vatican Bank bonds. It served as insurance. We are all in this together now. (41.25-29)
The Teacher is pretty dastardly in this way. As we learn at the end of the book, Teabing is the grand architect of this whole scheme, and he isn't exactly fond of the Catholic Church, so his request to get paid in Vatican Bank bonds is his way of biting his thumb at them.
Quote #8
"Some smaller ones, yes. A couple times for my birthday, he gave me a cryptex and told me a riddle. The answer to the riddle was the password to the cryptex, and once I figured it out, I could open it up and find my birthday card."
"A lot of work for a card."
"No, the cards always contained another riddle or clue. My grandfather loved creating elaborate treasure hunts around our house, a string of clues that eventually led to my real gift. Each treasure hunt was a test of character and merit, to ensure I earned my rewards. And the tests were never simple." (47.33-35)
This is hardly a conventional method of presenting gifts to your young granddaughter, but hey, whatever floats your boat, right? And it's certainly convenient now, when Sophie needs to draw upon all her practice in order to solve one last, convoluted treasure hunt.
Quote #9
"He was wearing a cilice," Teabing explained.
"A what?"
Teabing pointed to a bloody strip of barbed leather that lay on the floor. "A Discipline belt. He wore it on his thigh. I took careful aim."
Langdon rubbed his head. He knew of Discipline belts. "But how … did you know?"
Teabing grinned. "Christianity is my field of study, Robert, and there are certain sects who wear their hearts on their sleeves." He pointed his crutch at the blood soaking through the monk's cloak. "As it were." (65.36-42)
We love the fact that Teabing expects people to underestimate him, because think of the different layers of meaning that sentence carries, knowing that he's the Teacher orchestrating all of this all along.
Quote #10
Langdon was still hovering over the script. "A Sephardic transliteration, perhaps…?"
Teabing could bear it no longer. "Perhaps if I just…" Reaching over, he edged the box away from Langdon and pulled it toward himself. No doubt Langdon had a solid familiarity with the standard ancients – Greek, Latin, the Romances – but from the fleeting glance Teabing had of this language, he thought it looked more specialized, possible a Rashi script or a STA"M with crowns. (71.11-12)
These two brainiacs are almost too smart for their own good. It takes Sophie a solid three seconds to figure out that what they're looking at is mirror writing, but because Langdon and Teabing are so firmly rooted in academia they fail to see the obvious explanation.
Quote #11
Lieutenant Collet's smile was tired but calm. "It is my experience that Captain Bezu Fache seldom makes mistakes. I have not yet spoken to him on this matter, but knowing how he operates, I suspect his public manhunt for Agent Neveu and Mr. Langdon was part of a ruse to lure out the real killer."
The reporters exchanged surprised looks.
Collet continued. "Whether or not Mr. Langdon and Agent Neveu were willing participants in the sting, I do not know. Captain Fache tends to keep his more creative methods to himself. All I can confirm at this point is that the captain has successfully arrested the man responsible, and that Mr. Langdon and Agent Neveu are both innocent and safe."
(103.24-28)
And Collet from left field, for the win! He had the opportunity to throw his ego-ridden boss under the bus, but instead he cleverly manipulated the press into thinking Fache had known what he was doing all along. Not too shabby.