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Link Quote Stars Tags Author
b931605 There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. detection obviousness sherlock-holmes evidence facts Arthur Conan Doyle
c81cb3e Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius. recognition sherlock-holmes talent mediocrity gifts Arthur Conan Doyle
d35e22e My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people do not know. sherlock-holmes introduction Arthur Conan Doyle
d5fc5c6 What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence. The question is what can you make people believe you have done. rewriting-history belief sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
52fdda9 "Excellent!" I cried. "Elementary," said he." elementary sherlock-holmes simple Arthur Conan Doyle
67bddbc "My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created it, for I am the only one in the world." rebellion mind stagnation sherlock-holmes mystery Arthur Conan Doyle
52ac8df Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outre results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable. fiction chains-of-events commonplaces-of-existence cross-purposes outre-results plannings stale strange-coincidences unprofitable on-fiction sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
69f01a5 I am a brain, Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix. sherlock-holmes intellect Arthur Conan Doyle
f033ccd Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?' 'To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.' 'The dog did nothing in the night-time.' 'That was the curious incident,' remarked Sherlock Holmes. humor incident silver sherlock-holmes mystery curious dog Arthur Conan Doyle
536af76 How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, , must be the truth? sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
76b3bd0 Do you remember what Darwin says about music? He claims that the power of producing and appreciating it existed among the human race long before the power of speech was arrived at. Perhaps that is why we are so subtly influenced by it. There are vague memories in our souls of those misty centuries when the world was in its childhood.' That's a rather broad idea,' I remarked. One's ideas must be as broad as Nature if they are to interpret Nature,' he answered. nature music watson sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
0440f03 "Dr. Watson's summary list of Sherlock Holmes's strengths and weaknesses: "1. Knowledge of Literature: Nil. 2. Knowledge of Philosophy: Nil. 3. Knowledge of Astronomy: Nil. 4. Knowledge of Politics: Feeble. 5. Knowledge of Botany: Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening. 6. Knowledge of Geology: Practical but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them. 7. Knowledge of Chemistry: Profound. 8. Knowledge of Anatomy: Accurate but unsystematic. 9. Knowledge of Sensational Literature: Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century. 10. Plays the violin well. 11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman. 12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law." strengths weaknesses talents skills sherlock-holmes detectives knowledge Arthur Conan Doyle
cfd6e2d A man always finds it hard to realize that he may have finally lost a woman's love, however badly he may have treated her. men women love maltreatment mistreatment sherlock-holmes separation Arthur Conan Doyle
29e2f4d "Holmes and Watson are on a camping trip. In the middle of the night Holmes wakes up and gives Dr. Watson a nudge. "Watson" he says, "look up in the sky and tell me what you see." "I see millions of stars, Holmes," says Watson. "And what do you conclude from that, Watson?" plato-and-platypus sherlock sherlock-holmes Thomas Cathcart Daniel Klein
28d55c0 "You're not hurt, Watson? For God's sake, say that you are not hurt!" It was worth a wound -- it was worth many wounds -- to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation." three-garridebs doyle watson sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
8b73949 "You're not hurt, Watson? For God's sake, say that you are not hurt!" It was worth a wound -- it was worth many wounds -- to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation." -- three-garridebs doyle watson sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
f2efa18 From the first day I met her, she was the only woman to me. Every day of that voyage I loved her more, and many a time since have I kneeled down in the darkness of the night watch and kissed the deck of that ship because I knew her dear feet had trod it. She was never engaged to me. She treated me as fairly as ever a woman treated a man. I have no complaint to make. It was all love on my side, and all good comradeship and friendship on hers. When we parted she was a free woman, but I could never again be a free man. slavery sadness love homes sherlock-holmes love-at-first-sight obsession Arthur Conan Doyle
9326f7f "It's quite exciting," said Sherlock Holmes, with a yawn." sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle A Study in Scarlet
43ce3f9 How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. Now the red rim of the sun pushes itself over the London cloud-bank. It shines on a good many folk, but on none, I dare bet, who are on a stranger errand than you and I. How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of Nature! nature petty-ambitions strange-errands strivings morning sherlock-holmes london sunrise Arthur Conan Doyle
090c961 I am somewhat exhausted; I wonder how a battery feels when it pours electricity into a non-conductor? futility electricity exhaustion energy sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
0e1ad5d There is nothing more to be said or to be done tonight, so hand me over my violin and let us try to forget for half an hour the miserable weather and the still more miserable ways of our fellowmen. music violin sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
346bec9 "No: I am not tired. I have a curious constitution. I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely." ~ Sherlock Holmes" sherlock sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
24f0d1f You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles. methods trifles investigation mysteries sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
702df23 It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside. love rural-life john-watson countryside vile sherlock-holmes experience smiling beautiful london sin Arthur Conan Doyle
93788cb I cannot live without brainwork. What else is there to live for? Stand at the window here. Was ever such a dreary, dismal, unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the duncoloured houses. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? the-sign-of-four sherlock-holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
aca3207 "I mean, imagine how some unfortunate Master Criminal would feel, on coming down to do a murder at the old Grange, if he found that not only was Sherlock Holmes putting in the weekend there, but Hercule Poirot, as well." ~ Bertram "Bertie" Wooster" wooster jeeves wodehouse sherlock-holmes P.G. Wodehouse
05b8619 "They say that genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains," he remarked with a smile. "It's a very bad definition, but it does apply to detective work." sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
a1e5e4d You cannot help being a female, and I should be something of a fool were I to discount your talents merely because of their housing. talents sherlock-holmes Laurie R. King
e0bd4d2 He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city, He is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless, like a spider in the center of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them. He does little himself. He only plans. spider moriarty sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
80195bb He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for the observer- excellent for drawing the veil from men's motives and actions. But for the trained observer to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his. love john-watson sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
0cf1d1d "I must apologize for calling so late," said he, "and I must further beg you to be so unconventional as to allow me to leave your house presently by scrambling over your back garden wall." escape doctor-watson late-visit scrambling unconventional sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
e44960f "Am dining at Goldini's Restaurant, Gloucester Road, Kensington. Please come at once and join me there. Bring with you a jemmy, a dark lantern, a chisel, and a revolver. S. H." It was a nice equipment for a respectable citizen to carry through the dim, fog-draped streets." sherlock-holmes sarcasm Arthur Conan Doyle
f1cb9c8 "...Recognising, as I do, that you are the second highest expert in Europe--" "Indeed, sir! May I inquire who has the honour to be the first?" Asked Holmes, with some asperity. "To the man of precised, scientific mind the work of Monsieur Bertillon must always appeal strongly." "Then had you not better consult him?" "I said, sir, to the precisely scientific mind. But as a practical man of affairs it is acknowledged that you stand alone. I trust, sir, that I have not inadvertently--" "Just a little," said Holmes." humour sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
2a60397 ...Holmes, who loathed every form of society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in Baker Street, buried among his old books, and alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature. cocaine-and-ambition john-watson sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
f32cc6d The best way of successfully acting a part is to be it. method-acting role-playing disguise sherlock-holmes pretense Arthur Conan Doyle
069b726 It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers. goodness hope inspirational blessings sherlock-holmes flowers Arthur Conan Doyle
9874143 "Holmes took up the stone and held it against the light. "It's a bonny thing," said he. "Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil's pet baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found in the banks of the Amoy River in soutern China and is remarkable in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal. Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison?" murder greed gems precious-stones jewels sherlock-holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
e7d7012 I have always held, too, that pistol practice should be distinctly an open-air pastime; and when Homes, in one of his queer humours, would sit in an armchair with his hair-trigger and a hundred Boxer cartridges and proceed to adorn the opposite wall with a patriotic V.R. done in bullet pocks, I felt strongly that neither the atmosphere nor the appearance of our room was improved by it. pistol-practice john-watson sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
445e24c "Because it is my desire. Is that not enough?" [Sherlock Holmes on his .]" motivation raison-d-être sherlock-holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
33f21dd It is fortunate for this community that I am not a criminal. superiority criminals sherlock-holmes intellect detectives london Arthur Conan Doyle
ab74e94 "I undid the wrappings with great curiosity, for Holmes did not normally give gifts. I opened the dark velvet jeweller's box and found inside a shiny new set of picklocks, a younger version of his own. "Holmes, ever the romantic. Mrs. Hudson would be pleased." romance humor sherlock-holmes Laurie R. King
ad8e6fd "I would have stolen it for you, had I known you were interested." His voice was muffled by the door to the lumber room down the hallway, and I heard thumps and a crash. I raised my voice a trifle more than mere volume required. "I'm interested because she was. Both of them, come to that--Damian's art is infused with mystic symbols and traditions." Holmes' voice answered two inches away from my ear, making me jerk and spray a handful of maps across the floor. "Religion can be a dangerous thing, it is true," he remarked darkly, and went out again." -- religion mary-russell sherlock-holmes Laurie R. King
3a09f6f You know,' I answered, with some emotion, for I had never seen so much of Holmes' heart before, 'that it is my greatest joy and privilege to help you. sherlock-holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
ae3ab65 I give you full credit for the discovery, I crawl, I grovel, my name is Watson, and you need not say what you were just going to say, because I admit it all. wrong watson sherlock-holmes Dorothy L. Sayers
971b736 As I turned away, I saw Holmes, with his back against a rock and his arms folded, gazing down at the rush of the waters. It was the last that I was ever destined to see of him in this world. - Watson. sir-arthur-conan-doyle sherlock-holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2a41c7c "And then he had trained them, those lupine eyes, on her. The hunger in them so startled her that she took a step backward, striking her head against an iron pillar with such force that she later found crumbs of dried blood in her hair. It was a purely impersonal hunger, if such a thing there was - and here her report to Mr. Panicker faltered under the burden of his disapproval for her "romantic nature" - a hunger devoid of prurience, appetite, malice, or goodwill. It was a hunger, she decided later, for information. And yet there was liveliness in his gaze, a kind of cool vitality that was nearly amusement, as if a steady lifelong diet of mundane observations had preserved the youthful-ness of his optic organs alone." old sherlock-holmes Michael Chabon
380e60c He drew an oval shape to the left of the board, a doorway to the centre and a noose to the right. 'Here-' - he indicated the oval- 'We have the population of London, gathered together in a single mass. Our door here will admit just one of these millions, so acting as a filter. This individual is the one suited for the noose, the man we shall see hang.' 'But, Holmes-how do we make the correct selection?, the odds must be several million to one.' 'Let us see if we can lower those odds. - Holmes to Watson, Sherlock Holmes and the Whitechapel Murders sherlock whitechapel sherlock-holmes Mark Sohn
846f822 [Hugh] winced as I squealed the tyres, but after all, it wasn't his motorcar. Holmes did more than wince before we were out of Oxford, but I didn't hit anybody, and only brushed the farm cart slightly. It wasn't his automobile either, and what do men know about driving? mary-russell pastiche sherlock-holmes driving Laurie R. King
2837eb7 And he has guns and dogs that would make the Hound of Baskervilles seem like a bleeding Pekinese. doyle hound-of-baskervilles david-baldacci shaw sherlock-holmes David Baldacci
34ab943 There it was: a full confession. Sherlock Holmes had done it again, and as I marveled at my devastating powers of deduction, I wished there had been two of me so I could have patted myself on the back. I know it sounds arrogant, but how often does one achieve a mental triumph of that magnitude? After listening to her speak just two words, I had nailed the whole bloody thing. If Watson had been there, he would have been shaking his head and muttering under his breath. witty sherlock-holmes Paul Auster
a386af9 We all have neglected opportunities to deplore. opportunity sherlock-holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
f575598 At that moment, Ingrid remembered 'The Five Orange Pips' and maybe the most important thing Holmes told Watson: the observer who has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents should be able to accurately state all the ones, both before and after. sherlock-holmes Peter Abrahams
86eef56 The game is afoot. sherlock-holmes Janet Evanovich
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