What do you want? Hmm? Girl? Boy? You sent for me? Yes, I did. You're good, Spaniard, but...

Proximo: What do you want? Hmm? Girl? Boy? Maximus: You sent for me? Proximo: Yes, I did. You're good, Spaniard, but you're not that good. You could be magnificent. Maximus: I'm required to kill, so I kill. That is enough. Proximo: That's enough for the provinces, but not for Rome. The young emperor has arranged a series of spectacles to commemorate his father, Marcus Aurelius. I find that amusing since it Marcus Aurelius, the wise, the all-knowing Marcus Aurelius, that closed us down. So, finally after five years of scratching a living in flea-infested villages, we're finally going back to where we belong. The coliseum. Oh, you should see the coliseum, Spaniard. Fifty-thousand Romans. Watching every movement of your sword. Willing you to make that killer blow. The silence before you strike. And the noise afterwards. It rises. It rises up like - like the - like a storm. As if you were the Thundergod himself. Maximus: You were a gladiator? Proximo: Yes, I was. Maximus: And you won your freedom? Proximo: A long time ago, the emperor presented me with a rudis. It's just a... a wooden sword. A symbol of your freedom. He touched me on the shoulder and I was free. Maximus: [laughing] You knew Marcus Aurelius? Proximo: [Angry] I did not say I knew him! I said he touched me on the shoulder once! Maximus: You asked me what I want. I too want to stand in front of the emperor. As you did. Proximo: Then listen to me. Learn from me. I wasn't the best because I killed quickly. I was the best because the crowd loved me. Win the crowd and you'll win your freedom. Maximus: I will win the crowd. I will give them something they've never seen before. Proximo: [laughs] So, Spaniard. We shall go to Rome together and have bloody adventures. And a great whore will suckle us until we are fat and happy and can suckle no more. And then, when enough men have died, perhaps you will have your freedom. Here, use this. [tosses a breastplate to Maximus]