Revenge Is A Dish That Tastes

From Mario Puzo's The Godfather (1969), spoken by Vito Corleone. The proverb itself predates Puzo — its earliest known appearance is in Eugène Sue's French novel Mathilde (1841) — but Puzo gave it its most famous English-language form. The line does not appear in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film adaptation; it exists only in the novel, on page 403 of the G. P. Putnam's Sons first edition. In context, it captures the Don's belief that revenge, like any strategic act, is best executed with a cool head rather than in the heat of anger.