From the mouth of Tony Soprano: ‘We’re soldiers’

By CNN Staff

(CNN) — Tony Soprano was a bully and a lover, a lightning rod and a superstar. And thanks to scripts crafted by David Chase and others, he was also, at times, prophetic, wise, even poetic.

Here are a few of Tony Soprano’s many choice lines during “The Sopranos” acclaimed run on HBO, compiled from IMDB.com and TVfanatic.com and spoken by actor James Gandolfini, who died in Italy while on holiday.

— Talking to his psychiatrist: “We’re soldiers. Soldiers don’t go to hell. It’s war. Soldiers kill other soldiers. We’re in a situation where everyone involved knows the stakes and if you are going to accept those stakes, you’ve got to do certain things. It’s business.”

— From another conversation with his psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi: “This isn’t painful. Getting shot is painful. Getting stabbed in the ribs is painful. This … isn’t painful. It’s empty. Dead.”

— Speaking to his wife, Carmela: “You’re only religious when it suits you.”

— Speaking to Christopher Moltisanti, the cousin of Tony Soprano’s wife and part of his inner circle: “Blood. You’re going to lead this family into the 21st century.”

— In response to Dr. Melfi’s question, after he threatens to smash her face during a therapy session: “Is this a woman thing? You ask me how I’m feeling. I tell you how I’m feeling, and now you’re going to torture me with it.”

— Referring to his mother’s involvement in a plot to kill him: “What kind of person can I be, where his own mother wants him dead?

— Speaking again to Dr. Melfi: “The things I take pleasure in, I can’t do.”