A Man When He Is Making Up To Anybody Can Be Cordial And Gallant And Full Of Little Attentions And Altogether Charming. But When A Man Is Really In Love He Can't Help Looking Like A Sheep.

-Agatha Christie

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A Man When He

Agatha Christie

A Man When He Is Making Up To Anybody Can Be Cordial And Gallant And Full Of Little Attentions And Altogether Charming. But When A Man Is Really In Love He Can't Help Looking Like A Sheep.

Topic

Men

Sheep

Littles

More From Agatha Christie

To Feel Admiration For A Man All Through One's Married Life Would, I Think, Be Excessively Tedious.

Men

Thinking

Admiration

There Is Evil Everywhere Under The Sun.

Evil

Sun

If Only-if Only, Hastings, You Would Part Your Hair In The Middle Instead Of At The Side! What A Difference It Would Make To The Symmetry Of Your Appearance. And Your Moustache. If You Must Have A Moustache, Let It Be A Real Moustache-a Thing Of Beauty Such As Mine.

Real

Hair

Differences

The Tragedy Of Life Is That People Do Not Change.

People

Tragedy

Life Is

The Simplest Explanation Is Always The Most Likely.

Explanation

Simplest

I'm Going To Marry Him. And If He Thinks He Can Get Divorced And Married Every Two Or Three Years In The Approved Hollywood Fashion, Well, He Never Made A Bigger Mistake In His Life. He's Going To Marry And Stick To Me.

Fashion

Mistake

Divorce

There's No Agony Like [getting Started]. You Sit In A Room, Biting Pencils, Looking At A Typewriter, Walking About, Or Casting Yourself Down On A Sofa, Feeling You Want To Cry Your Head Off.

Typewriters

Agony

Feelings

It Had Come About Exactly In The Way Things Happened In Books.

Book

Way

Exes

If We Seek To Keep The Past Alive, We End, I Think, By Distorting It.

Thinking

Past

Alive

The Human Mind Prefers To Be Spoon-fed With The Thoughts Of Others, But Deprived Of Such Nourishment It Will, Reluctantly, Begin To Think For Itself - And Such Thinking, Remember, Is Original Thinking And May Have Valuable Results.

Thinking

Mind

May

From An Early Age I Knew Very Strongly The Lust To Kill.

Everybody Is Very Much Alike, Really. But Fortunately, Perhaps, They Don't Realise It. - Miss Marple

Missing

Miss Marple

Realising

I Believe, Messieurs, In Loyalty---to One's Friends And One's Family And One's Caste.

Loyalty

Believe

I Believe

To Care Passionately For Another Human Creature Brings Always More Sorrow Than Joy; But At The Same Time, Elinor, One Would Not Be Without Experience. Anyone Who Has Never Really Loved Has Never Really Lived.

Joy

Sorrow

Care

Mr. Jesmond Made A Peculiar Noise Rather Like A Hen Who Has Decided To Lay An Egg And Then Thought Better Of It.

Eggs

Peculiar

Noise

Prisoners At The Bar, Have You Anything To Say In Your Defence?

Bars

Prisoner

Defence

The Lure Of The Past Came Up To Grab Me. To See A Dagger Slowly Appearing, With Its Gold Glint, Through The Sand Was Romantic. The Carefulness Of Lifting Pots And Objects From The Soil Filled Me With A Longing To Be An Archaeologist Myself.

Past

Gold

Daggers

I Have Often Had Occasion To Notice How, Where A Direct Question Would Fail To Elicit A Response, A False Assumption Brings Instant Information In The Form Of A Contradiction.

Information

Assumption

Failing

I've Got A Stomach Now As Well As A Behind. And I Mean - Well, You Can't Pull It In Both Ways, Can You? ... I've Made It A Rule To Pull In My Stomach And Let My Behind Look After Itself.

Mean

Way

Looks

I Am Not Mad. I Am Eccentric Perhaps--at Least Certain People Say So; But As Regards My Profession. I Am Very Much As One Says, 'all There.

People

Mad

Eccentric

The Supernatural Is Only The Natural Of Which The Laws Are Not Yet Understood.

Law

Natural

Understood

You Regard It As Impossible That A Sinner Should Be Struck Down By The Wrath Of God! I Do Not!

Wrath

Impossible

Should

With Thought, All Problems Can Be Resolved.

Problem

A Lot Of Trouble Has Been Caused By Memoirs. Indiscreet Revelations, That Sort Of Thing. People Who Have Been Close As An Oyster All Their Lives Seem Positively To Relish Causing Trouble When They Themselves Shall Be Comfortably Dead.

Oysters

People

Trouble

Sitting Here With One's Knitting, One Just Sees The Facts. -"the Blood-stained Pavement

Knitting

Blood

Sitting

You Travel Life Has The Aspect Of A Dream. It Is Something Outside The Normal, Yet You Are In It. It Is Peopled With Characters You Have Never Seen Before And In All Probability Will Never See Again. It Brings Occasional Homesickness, And Loneliness, And Pangs Of Longing ... But You Are Like The Vikings Who Have Gone Into A World Of Adventure, And Home Is Not Home Until You Return.

Dream

Loneliness

Home

How Tedious Is Retirement! You Cannot Imagine To Yourself The Monotony With Which Day Comes After Day.

Retirement

Imagine

Monotony

Any Woman Can Fool A Man If She Wants To And If He's In Love With Her.

Wedding

Women

Judging

You Don't Realize What Fine Fighting Material There Is In Age. ... You Show Me Any One Who's Lived To Over Seventy And You Show Me A Fighter - Some One Who's Got The Will To Live.

Fighting

Age

Fighter

... There Are Many To Whom Money Has No Personal Appeal, But Who Can Be Tempted By The Power It Confers.

Appeals

Tempted

Poirot Said Placidly, “one Does Not, You Know, Employ Merely The Muscles. I Do Not Need To Bend And Measure The Footprints And Pick Up The Cigarette Ends And Examine The Bent Blades Of Grass. It Is Enough For Me To Sit Back In My Chair And Think. It Is This – ” He Tapped His Egg-shaped Head – “this, That Functions!

Thinking

Eggs

Doe

Evil Never Goes Unpunished, Monsieur. But The Punishment Is Sometimes Secret.

Punishment

Evil

Secret

It's A Mystery To Me How Anyone Ever Gets Any Nourishment In This Place. They Must Eat Their Meals Standing Up By The Window So As To Be Sure Of Not Missing Anything.

Missing

Meals

Mystery

Many Years Ago, When I Was Once Saying Sadly To Max It Was A Pity I Couldn't Have Taken Up Archaeology When I Was A Girl, So As To Be More Knowledgeable On The Subject, He Said, 'don't You Realize That At This Moment You Know More About Prehistoric Pottery Than Any Woman In England?'

Girl

Taken

Years

No Sign, So Far, Of Anything Sinister—but I Live In Hope.

Sinister

There's Nothing So Dangerous For Anyone Who Has Something To Hide As Conversation.

Conversation

Dangerous

Any Medical Man Who Predicts Exactly When A Patient Will Die, Or Exactly How Long He Will Live, Is Bound To Make A Fool Of Himself. The Human Factor Is Always Incalculable. The Weak Have Often Unexpected Powers Of Resistance, The Strong Sometimes Succumb.

Strong

Men

Long

It Is Curious - But You Cannot Make A Revolution Without Honest Men. ... Every Revolution Has Had Its Honest Men. They Are Soon Disposed Of Afterwards.

Men

Revolution

Honest

At The Small Table, Sitting Very Upright, Was One Of The Ugliest Old Ladies He Had Ever Seen. It Was An Ugliness Of Distinction - It Fascinated Rather Than Repelled.

Sitting

Tables

Distinction

A Weak Man In A Corner Is More Dangerous Than A Strong Man.

Strong

Men

Weak Man

You Can Only Really Get Under Anybody's Skin If You Are Married To Them.

Skins

Married

Ifs

I Like Living. I Have Sometimes Been Wildly, Despairingly, Acutely Miserable, Racked With Sorrow, But Through It All I Still Know Quite Certainly That Just To Be Alive Is A Grand Thing.

Inspirational

Life

Happiness

I Can't Imagine Why Everybody Is Always So Keen For Authors To Talk About Writing. I Should Have Thought It Was An Author's Business To Write, Not Talk.

Writing

Should Have

Imagine

Those Who Never Think Of Money Need A Great Deal Of It.

Thinking

Needs

Deals

When You Find That People Are Not Telling You The Truth---look Out!

Honesty

People

Looks

It's Like All Those Quiet People, When They Do Lose Their Tempers They Lose Them With A Vengeance.

Quiet People

Vengeance

Temper

One Of The Saddest Things In Life, Is The Things One Remembers.

Reflection

Things In Life

Remember

Life Itself Is An Unsolved Mystery", Said The Clergyman Gravely.

Mystery

Clergymen

Unsolved Mysteries

Money ... Is Always The Great Clue To What Is Happening In The World.

World

Clue

Happenings

Never Tell All You Know—not Even To The Person You Know Best.

Persons

Knows

There Is No Fanatic Like A Religious Fanatic.

Religious

Religious Fanatics

Fanatics

I Really Cannot Understand The Point Of What You're Saying. Really,' Said Clotilde, Looking At Her. 'what A Very Extraordinary Person You Are. What Sort Of A Woman Are You? Why Are You Talking Like This? Who Are You?' Miss Marple Pulled Down The Mass Of Pink Wool That Encircled Her Head, A Pink Wool Scarf Of The Same Kind That She Had Once Worn In The West Indies. 'one Of My Names,' She Said, 'is Nemesis.' 'nemesis? And What Does That Mean?' 'i Think You Know,' Said Miss Marple. 'you Are A Very Well Educated Woman. Nemesis Is Long Delayed Sometimes, But It Comes In The End.

Mean

Thinking

West Indies

Writing Is A Great Comfort To People Like Me, Who Are Unsure Of Themselves And Have Trouble Expressing Themselves Properly.

Writing

People

Comfort

One Of Us In This Very Room Is In Fact The Murderer.

Facts

Rooms

Murderer

What I Feel Is That If One Has Got To Have A Murder Actually Happening In One's House, One Might As Well Enjoy It, If You Know What I Mean.

Mean

House

Might

Hercule Poirot: I Am An Imbecile. I See Only Half Of The Picture. Miss Lemon: I Don't Even See That.

Missing

Half

Imbeciles

Now I Am Old-fashioned. A Woman, I Consider, Should Be Womanly. I Have No Patience With The Modern Neurotic Girl Who Jazzes From Morning To Night, Smokes Like A Chimney, And Uses Language Which Would Make A Billingsgate Fishwoman Blush!

Girl

Morning

Night

It Is Clear That The Books Owned The Shop Rather Than The Other Way About. Everywhere They Had Run Wild And Taken Possession Of Their Habitat, Breeding And Multiplying, And Clearly Lacking Any Strong Hand To Keep Them Down.

Running

Strong

Book

An Archaeologist Is The Best Husband A Woman Can Have. The Older She Gets The More Interested He Is In Her.

Love

Funny

Birthday

That Is What I Mean. A Bath! The Receptacle Of Porcelain, One Turns The Taps And Fills It, One Gets In, One Gets Out And Ghoosh - Ghoosh - Ghoosh, The Water Goes Down The Waste Pipe!" "m. Poirot Are You Quite Mad?" "no, I Am Extremely Sane.

Mean

Mad

Water

I Suppose It Is Because Nearly All Children Go To School Nowadays And Have Things Arranged For Them That They Seem So Forlornly Unable To Produce Their Own Ideas.

Education

Children

Learning

I Am Not One To Rely Upon The Expert Procedure. It Is The Psychology I Seek, Not The Fingerprint Or The Cigarette Ash.

Rely Upon

Psychology

Experts

If Anyone Is Really Determined To Lend You A Book, You Never Can Get Out Of It!

Book

Determined

Ifs

It Often Seems To Me That's All Detective Work Is, Wiping Out Your False Starts And Beginning Again." Yes, It Is Very True, That. And It Is Just What Some People Will Not Do. They Conceive A Certain Theory, And Everything Has To Fit Into That Theory. If One Little Fact Will Not Fit It, They Throw It Aside. But It Is Always The Facts That Will Not Fit In That Are Significant.

People

Wiping Out

Detective Work

It Is Odd How, When You Have A Secret Belief Of Your Own Which You Do Not Wish To Acknowledge, The Voicing Of It By Someone Else Will Rouse You To A Fury Of Denial.

Secret

Wish

Denial

People Should Be Interested In Books, Not Their Authors.

Book

People

Should

Words Are Such Uncertain Things, They So Often Sound Well But Mean The Opposite Of What One Thinks They Do.

Mean

Thinking

Opposites

Time Is The Best Killer.

Killers

Difficulties Are Made To Be Overcome ~ Miss Felicity Lemon, Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Plymouth Express

Missing

Overcoming

Plymouth

I Continued To Do Arithmetic With My Father, Passing Proudly Through Fractions To Decimals. I Eventually Arrived At The Point Where So Many Cows Ate So Much Grass, And Tanks Filled With Water In So Many Hours. I Found It Quite Enthralling.

Education

Father

Math

The Trouble With You And Me, Is That We Don't Live In The Real World. We Dream Of Fantastic Things That May Never Happen.

Dream

Real

World

Good Advice Is Always Certain To Be Ignored, But That's No Reason Not To Give It.

Inspirational

Christian

Mother And Daughter

In Conversation, Points Arise! If A Human Being Converses Much, It Is Impossible For Him To Avoid The Truth! (hercule Poirot)

Impossible

Arise

Conversation

Poirot: Do Not Allow Hate Into Your Heart, For It Will Make A Home There. Jackie: If Love Cannot Live There, Hate Works Just As Well.

Hate

Home

Heart

And, Of Course, Afterwards -- One Always Hears These Things Afterwards, So Much Better If One Heard Them Before -- We Found Out That Dozens Of Empty Brandy Bottles Were Taken Out Of The House Every Week!

Taken

House

Bottles

The Urge To Write One's Autobiography, So I Have Been Told, Overtakes Everyone Sooner Or Later.

Writing

Autobiography

Sooner Or Later

Every Murderer Is Probably Somebody's Old Friend.

Funny Friend

Old Friends

Literature

Sometimes I Feel Sure He Is As Mad As A Hatter And Then, Just As He Is At His Maddest, I Find There Is A Method In His Madness.

Mad

Sometimes

Method

Women Observe Subconsciously A Thousand Little Details, Without Knowing They Are Doing So. Their Subconscious Mind Adds These Little Things Together - And They Call The Result Intuition.

Women

Knowing

Intuition

The Things Young Women Read Nowadays And Profess To Enjoy Positively Frighten Me.

Young

Enjoy

Young Women

And So Could You Know It If You Would Only Use The Brains The Good God Has Given You. Sometimes I Really Am Tempted To Believe That By Inadvertence, He Passed You By.

Believe

Brain

Use

The Truth Often Does Sound Unconvincing.

Sound

Doe

As You Yourself Have Said, What Other Explanation Can There Be?' Poirot Stared Straight Ahead Of Him. 'that Is What I Ask Myself,' He Said. 'that Is What I Never Cease To Ask Myself.

Said

Explanation

Asks

There's Too Much Tendency To Attribute To God The Evils That Man Does Of His Own Free Will.

Men

Umpires

Evil

She Didn't Give George Any Too Easy A Time When She Was Alive. She Was One Of Those Semi-invalids – I Believe She Had Really Something Wrong With Her, But Whatever It Was She Played It For All It Was Worth. She Was Capricious, Exacting, Unreasonable. She Complained From Morning To Night. George Was Expected To Wait On Her, Hand And Foot And Everything He Did Was Always Wrong And He Got Cursed For It. Most Men, I'm Fully Convinced, Would Have Hit Her With A Hatchet Long Ago.

Morning

Believe

Men

It Is Deplorable...to Remove All The Romance - All The Mystery!

Romance

Mystery

Remove

Evil Is Not Something Superhuman, It's Something Less Than Human.

Evil

Literature

Superhuman

To Put It Quite Crudely ... The Poor Don't Really Know How The Rich Live, And The Rich Don't Know How The Poor Live, And To Find Out Is Really Enchanting To Both Of Them.

Rich

Poor

Enchanting

They Tried To Be Too Clever---and That Was Their Undoing.

Clever

Undoing

Cleverness

Sensationalism Dies Quickly, Fear Is Long-lived.

Long

Sensationalism

Dies

The Out-of-date Returns In Due Course As The Picturesque.

Return

Nostalgia

Courses

When The Sea Goes Down, There Will Come From The Mainland Boats And Men. And They Will Find Ten Dead Bodies And An Unsolved Problem On Indian Island.

Men

Sea

Islands

Bad Temper Is Its Own Safety Valve. He Who Can Bark Does Not Bite.

Anger

Safety

Doe

Don't Think. That Is The Wrong Way To Bring Anything Back. Let It Go. Sooner Or Later It Will Flash Into Your Mind.

Thinking

Mind

Let It Go

Be Sure Thy Sin Will Find Thee Out.

Sin

Thee

There Is No Greater Mistake In Life Than Seeing Things Or Hearing Them At The Wrong Time.

Mistake

Hearing

Wrong Time

When The Fact Doesn't Meet The Theory Then Let Go The Theory.

Letting Go

Facts

Theory

No, My Friend, I Am Not Drunk. I Have Just Been To The Dentist, And Need Not Return For Another Six Months! Is It Not The Most Beautiful Thought? --poirot

Funny

Beautiful

Drunk

I Didn't Want To Work. It Was As Simple As That. I Distrusted Work, Disliked It. I Thought It Was A Very Bad Thing That The Human Race Had Unfortunately Invented For Itself.

Simple

Race

Want

The Best Time To Plan A Book Is While You're Doing The Dishes.

Time

Book

Memorable

Books Are A Habit-forming Drug.

Book

Drug

Habit

The Happy People Are Failures Because They Are On Such Good Terms With Themselves They Don't Give A Damn.

Winning

People

Giving

Everyone Likes Talking About Himself. - Hercule Poirot

Talking

Likes

Hercule Poirot

If I Were At Any Time To Set Out On A Career Of Deceit, It Would Be Of Miss Marple That I Should Be Afraid.

Careers

Missing

Deceit

A Woman Who Doesn't Lie Is A Woman Without Imagination And Without Sympathy.

Lying

Imagination

Very Few Of Us Are What We Seem.

Literature

Seems

Crime Is Terribly Revealing. Try And Vary Your Methods As You Will, Your Tastes, Your Habits, Your Attitude Of Mind, And Your Soul Is Revealed By Your Actions.

Attitude

Soul

Mind

I Have Enjoyed Greatly The Second Blooming... Suddenly You Find - At The Age Of 50, Say - That A Whole New Life Has Opened Before You.

Turning 50

Inspirational Birthday

50th Birthday

A Man When He Is Making Up To Anybody Can Be Cordial And Gallant And Full Of Little Attentions And Altogether Charming. But When A Man Is Really In Love He Can't Help Looking Like A Sheep.

Men

Sheep

Littles

Self-preservation's A Man's First Duty. And Natives Don't Mind Dying, You Know. They Don't Feel About It As Europeans Do.

Men

Self

Mind

Bottled, Was He?" Said Colonel Bantry, With An Englishman's Sympathy For Alcoholic Excess. "oh, Well, Can't Judge A Fellow By What He Does When He's Drunk? When I Was At Cambridge, I Remember I Put A Certain Utensil - Well - Well, Nevermind.

Sympathy

Drunk

Judging

A Man Doesn't Wasnt To Feel That A Woman Cares More For Him Than He Cares For Her. He Doesn't Want To Feel Owned, Body And Soul. It's That Damned Possessive Attitude. This Man Is Mine---he Belongs To Me! He Wants To Get Away --- To Get Free. He Wants To Own His Woman; He Doesn't Want Her To Own Him.(simon Boyle)

Attitude

Men

Soul

You Should Employ Your Little Grey Cells.

Cells

Littles

Should

Best Of An Island Is Once You Get There - You Can't Go Any Farther...you've Come To The End Of Things.

Islands

Ends

Tea! Bless Ordinary Everyday Afternoon Tea!

Tea

Everyday

Ordinary

Things Never Come When They Are Expected.

Expectations

Expected

Curious Things, Habits. People Themselves Never Knew They Had Them. [witness For The Prosecution, Also Published In The Hound Of Death And Other Stories.]

People

Stories

Habit

Unless You Are Good At Guessing, It Is Not Much Use Being A Detective.

Use

Guessing

Detectives

My Remarks Are, As Always, Apt, Sound, And To The Point. (hercule Poirot)

Sound

Hercule Poirot

Remarks

It's Not A Man's Working Hours That Are Important--it's His Leisure Hours. That's The Mistake We All Make.

Mistake

Men

Important

Many Friends Have Said To Me, 'i Never Know When You Write Your Books, Because I've Never Seen You Writing, Or Even Seen You Go Away To Write.' I Must Behave Rather As Dogs Do When They Retire With A Bone; They Depart In A Secretive Manner And You Do Not See Them Again For An Odd Half Hour. They Return Self-consciously With Mud On Their Noses. I Do Much The Same.

Dog

Book

Writing

... Evil Was, Perhaps, Necessarily Always More Impressive Than Good.

Evil

Impressive

You Agree - I'm Sure You Agree That Beauty Is The Only Thing Worth Living For.

Self Esteem

Agree

Esteem

It Is Really A Hard Life. Men Will Not Be Nice To You If You Are Not Good-looking, And Women Will Not Be Nice To You If You Are.

Nice

Men

Hard Life

I Don't Think Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention. Invention, In My Opinion, Arises Directly From Idleness, Possibly Also From Laziness - To Save Oneself Trouble.

Mother

Memorable

Thinking

You Gave Too Much Rein To Your Imagination. Imagination Is A Good Servant, And A Bad Master. The Simplest Explanation Is Always The Most Likely.

Imagination

Too Much

Elegance

Words, Mademoiselle, Are Only The Outer Clothing Of Ideas.

Ideas

Clothings

There Are Doubtless Certain Unworldly People Who Are Indifferent To Money. I Myself Have Never Met One.

People

Mets

Certain

Wonderful Things, Horses. Never Know What They Will Do, Or Won't Do.

Horse

Wonderful

Knows

I Have Enjoyed Greatly The Second Blooming That Comes When You Finish The Life Of The Emotions And Of Personal Relations; And Suddenly Find - At The Age Of Fifty, Say - That A Whole New Life Has Opened Before You, Filled With Things You Can Think About, Study, Or Read About...it Is As If A Fresh Sap Of Ideas And Thoughts Was Rising In You.

Life

Retirement

Thinking

One Knows So Little. When One Knows More It Is Too Late.

Too Late

Littles

Late

There Is Too Much Tendency To Attribute To God The Evils That Man Does Of His Own Free Will. I Must Concede You The Devil. God Doesn't Really Need To Punish Us, Miss Barton. We're So Busy Punishing Ourselves.

Men

Evil

Missing

I, Myself, Was Always Recognized . . . As The “slow One” In The Family. It Was Quite True, And I Knew It And Accepted It. Writing And Spelling Were Always Terribly Difficult For Me. My Letters Were Without Originality. I Was . . . An Extraordinarily Bad Speller And Have Remained So Until This Day.

Writing

Letters

Originality

It Is Ridiculous To Set A Detective Story In New York City. New York City Is Itself A Detective Story.

New York

Writing

Cities

I Like To Inquire Into Everything. Hercule Poirot Is A Good Dog. The Good Dog Follows The Scent, And If, Regrettably, There Is No Scent To Follow, He Noses Around - Seeking Always Something That Is Not Very Nice.

Dog

Nice

Noses

Oh, I'm Not Afraid Of Death! What Have I Got To Live For After All? I Suppose You Believe It's Very Wrong To Kill A Person Who Has Injured You-even If They've Taken Away Everything You Had In The World?

Believe

Taken

World

To Rush Into Explanations Is Always A Sign Of Weakness.

Weakness

Excuse

Explanation

But No Artist, I Now Realize, Can Be Satisfied With Art Alone. There Is A Natural Craving For Recognition Which Cannot Be Gain-said.

Art

Gains

Recognition

An Ugly Voice Repels Me Where An Ugly Face Would Not.

Voice

Ugly

Faces

Many Homicidal Lunatics Are Very Quiet, Unassuming People. Delightful Fellows.

People

Quiet

Fellows

Trains Are Wonderful.... To Travel By Train Is To See Nature And Human Beings, Towns And Churches And Rivers, In Fact, To See Life.

Rivers

Church

Towns

I Married An Archeologist Because The Older I Grow, The More He Appreciates Me.

Appreciate

Age

Aging

I Know There's A Proverb Which That Says 'to Err Is Human,' But A Human Error Is Nothing To What A Computer Can Do If It Tries.

Technology

Errors

Trying

Everybody Always Knows Something," Said Adam, "even If It's Something They Don't Know They Know.

Adam

Said

Knows

There Was A Moment When I Changed From An Amateur To A Professional. I Assumed The Burden Of A Profession, Which Is To Write Even When You Don't Want To, Don't Much Like What You're Writing, And Aren't Writing Particularly Well

Work

Writing

Commitment

But Surely For Everything You Love You Have To Pay Some Price.

Love You

Literature

Pay

... Obsessions Are Always Dangerous.

Obsession

Dangerous

... The Belief In A Superstratum Of Human Beings ... Is The Most Evil Of All Beliefs. For When You Say, 'i Am Not As Other Men' -- You Have Lost The Two Most Valuable Qualities We Have Ever Tried To Attain: -- Humility And Brotherhood.

Humility

Men

Two

Plots Come To Me At Such Odd Moments, When I Am Walking Along The Street, Or Examining A Hat Shop… Suddenly A Splendid Idea Comes Into My Head.

Ideas

Plot

Hats

If You Confront Anyone Who Has Lied With The Truth, He Will Usually Admit It - Often Out Of Sheer Surprise. It Is Only Necessary To Guess Right To Produce Your Effect.

Surprise

Lied

Produce

I Always Think Loyalty's Such A Tiresome Virtue.

Loyalty

Thinking

Virtue

Coffee In England Always Tastes Like A Chemistry Experiment.

Coffee

Taste

England

Who Is There Who Has Not Felt A Sudden Startled Pang At Reliving An Old Experience Or Feeling An Old Emotion?

Feelings

Emotion

Felt

The Heart Of A Woman Who Loves Will Forgive Many Blows.

Heart

Blow

Forgiving

If One Sticks Too Rigidly To One's Principles, One Would Hardly See Anybody.

Principles

Literature

Sticks

The Bereaved Had Never Any Doubt About Their Dear Ones' Wishes And Those Wishes Usually Squared With Their Own Inclinations.

Dear Ones

Doubt

Wish

Fiction Is Founded On Truth....unless Things Did Happen,people Couldn't Think Of Them.

Thinking

People

Fiction

Any Coincidencce Is Worth Noticing. You Can Throw It Away Later If It Is Only A Coincidence.

Noticing You

Coincidence

Ifs

Everything Must Be Taken Into Account. If The Fact Will Not Fit The Theory---let The Theory Go.

Taken

Facts

Fit

Of Course I Despise Money When I Haven't Got Any. It's The Only Dignified Thing To Do.

Despise

Things To Do

Courses

One Of The Oddest Things In Life, As We All Know, Is The Way That When You Have Heard A Thing Mentioned, Within Twenty-four Hours You Nearly Always Come Across It Again.

Things In Life

Twenties

Four

It's So Much Nicer To Be A Secret And Delightful Sin To Anybody Than To Be A Feather In His Cap.

Secret

Sin

Caps

I'm Sure You Have A Theme: The Theme Of Your Life. You Can Embellish It Or Desecrate It, But It's Your Theme, And As Long As You Follow It, You Will Experience Harmony And Peace Of Mind.

Long

Mind

Harmony

I'm Afraid Of Death... Yes, But That Doesn't Stop Death Coming.

Death Coming

Afraid Of Death

One Little Indian Boy Left All Alone; He Went And Hanged Himself And Then There Were None.

Littles

All Alone

Left

An Appreciative Listener Is Always Stimulating.

Appreciative

Listeners

We Owe Most Of Our Great Inventions And Most Of The Achievements Of Genius To Idleness Either Enforced Or Voluntary.

Simple

Achievement

Great Inventions

People Who Can Be Very Good Can Be Very Bad Too.

People

Very Good

He Was Very Much A Man Of Moods, Possibly Owing To What Is Styled The Artistic Temperment. I Have Never Seen, Myself, Why The Possession Of Artistic Ability Should Be Supposed To Excuse A Man From A Decent Exercise Of Self-control.

Exercise

Men

Self

Who Are You? You Don't Belong To The Police?' 'i Am Better Than The Police,' Said Poirot. He Said It Without Conscious Arrogance. It Was, To Him, A Simple Statement Of Fact.

Simple

Police

Arrogance

Achievement Brings With It Its Own Anticlimax.

Success

Achievement

Too Much Mercy... Often Resulted In Further Crimes Which Were Fatal To Innocent Victims Who Need Not Have Been Victims If Justice Had Been Put First And Mercy Second.

Justice

Needs

Too Much

Talk And Tea Is His Specialty," Said Giles. "he Has About Five Cups Of Tea A Day. But He Works Splendidly When We Are Looking.

Tea

Cups

Said

I Know Nothing About Pistols And Revolvers, Which Is Why I Usually Kill Off My Characters With A Blunt Instrument Or Better With Poisons. Besides, Poisons Are Neat And Clean And Really Exciting... I Do Not Think I Could Look A Really Ghastly Mangled Body In The Face. It Is The Means That I Am Interested In. I Do Not Usually Describe The End, Which Is Often A Corpse.

Character

Mean

Thinking

The Detective's Highest Talent Lay In The Gentle Art Of Seeking Favours Under The Guise Of Conferring Them!

Art

Favors

Detectives

Downstairs In The Lounge, By The Third Pillar From The Left, There Sits An Old Lady With A Sweet, Placid, Spinsterish Face And A Mind That Has Plumbed The Depths Of Human Iniquity And Taken It All As In The Day's Work....where Crime Is Concerned, She's The Goods.

Sweet

Taken

Mind

It Is The Brain, The Little Gray Cells On Which One Must Rely. One Must Seek The Truth Within--not Without." ~ Poirot

Cells

Brain

Littles

If You Are To Be Hercule Poirot, You Must Think Of Everything.

Thinking

Hercule Poirot

Ifs

The Contemporary Historian Never Writes Such A True History As The Historian Of A Later Generation.

Writing

History

Generations

The Science Of Tomorrow Is The Supernatural Of Today.

Today

Tomorrow

You're Shocked, Mr. Burton, At Hearing What Our Gossiping Little Town Thinks. I Can Tell You This - They Always Think The Worst!

Thinking

Towns

Littles

I've Got An Uncle Myself. Nobody Should Be Held Responsible For Their Uncles. Nature's Little Throwbacks - That's How I Look At It.

Uncles

Aunt

Looks

It Is The Quietest And Meekest People Who Are Often Capable Of The Most Sudden And Unexpected Violences For The Reason That When Their Control Does Snap, It Goes Entirely. (hercule Poirot)

People

Doe

Violence

Nothing, I Believe, Is So Full Of Life Under The Microscope As A Drop Of Water From A Stagnant Pool.

Believe

Water

Pool

I Admit," I Said, "that A Second Murder In A Book Often Cheers Things Up." - Hastings

Cheer

Book

Murder

When A Man Is Really In Love He Can't Help Looking Like A Sheep.

Men

Sheep

Helping

Juliet Singles Out Romeo. Desdemona Claims Othello. They Have No Doubts, The Young, No Fear, No Pride.

Love

Pride

Doubt

... Nothing Is So Boring As Devotion.

Boring

Devotion

So Boring

The Whole Thing Was Like A Nine-month Ocean Voyage To Which You Never Got Acclimatized.

Ocean

Pregnancy

Voyages

A Great Man Always Knows Better Than To Explain Unless An Explanation Is Demanded. To Rush Into Explanations And Excuses Is Always A Sign Of Weakness.

Men

Weakness

Excuse

I Have A Certain Experience Of The Way People Tell Lies.

Lying

People

Way

There Are More Important Things Than Finding The Murderer. And Justice Is A Fine Word, But It Is Sometimes Difficult To Say Exactly What One Means By It. In My Opinion, The Important Thing Is To Clear The Innocent. - Hercule Poirot

Mean

Justice

Important

I Was Thinking, That When My Time Comes, I Should Be Sorry If The Only Plea I Had To Offer Was That Of Justice. Because It Might Mean That Only Justice Would Be Meted Out To Me.

Sorry

Mean

Thinking

There Are Many Things That Are Unbelievable. Especially Before Breakfast, Is It Not? That Is What One Of Your Classics Says. Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

Impossible Things

Breakfast

Six

Writers Are Diffident Creatures -- They Need Encouragement.

Encouragement

Needs

Need Encouragement

Hate Doesn't Last. Love Does.

Hate

Doe

Lasts

These Little Grey Cells. It Is Up To Them.

Cells

Literature

Littles

A Mother's Love For Her Child Is Like Nothing Else In The World. It Knows No Law, No Pity, It Dares All Things And Crushes Down Remorselessly All That Stands In Its Path.

Love

Birthday

Family

Dogs Are Wise. They Crawl Away Into A Quiet Corner And Lick Their Wounds And Do Not Rejoin The World Until They Are Whole Once More.

Wise

Wisdom

Dog

Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.

2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.

2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.

2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.

3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.

3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.

3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.

4. Proper Usage of Quotes

4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.

4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.

4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.

5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.

5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.

6. Quotes in Different Contexts

6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.

6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.

6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.

7. Punctuation and Formatting

Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:

Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.

Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.

Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.

8. Ethical Considerations

Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes

Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.

Conclusion

Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.

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