"Esta gente é boa e de boa simplicidade. E imprimir-se-á ligeiramente neles cuqlquer cunho, que les quiserem dar. E logo lhes, Nosso Senhor, deu bons corpos e bons rostos, como a bons homens, e Ele que nos por aqui trouxe, creio que não foi sem causa. E portanto, Vossa Alteza, pois tanto deseja acrescentar na santa fé católica, deve entender em sua salvação."

"These people are good and simple. You can stamp on them any design that you wish to give them. And Our Lord gave them good bodies and good faces, and I think that it was his plan that we arrive here. Therefore, Your Majesty, since you wish so much to increase Catholic faith, you must provide for their salvation."

"Lisbon, that name of being and non-being With its secret meanders of amazement, insomnia, and tin shacks And secret glitter of something theatrical Its conniving smile of intrigue and masks While the wide ocean dilates west Lisbon rocking like a great boat Lisbon cruelly built along its own absence"

"Esta é a madrugada que eu esperava O dia inicial inteiro e limpo Onde emergimos da noite e do silêncio E livres habitamos a substância do tempo"

"Da Costa’s ban was harsher than most. When he was banned in 1633, the possibility of atonement was left open, but it was atonement by flagellation that was required. Da Costa refused, but by 1640, after enduring years of isolation, he agreed to go through with the punishment during which he was not only whipped in the synagogue, but, after the display, was forced to lie down at the threshold of the synagogue. Those who exited then stepped on his body on their way out. Unable to bear this humiliation, da Costa shot himself several days later."