The Point Is That One's Got An Instinct To Live. One Doesn't Live Because One's Reason Assents To Living. People Who, As We Say, 'would Be Better Dead' Don't Want To Die! People Who Apparently Have Everything To Live For Just Let Themselves Fade Out Of Life Because They Haven't Got The Energy To Fight.

-Agatha Christie

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The Point Is That

Agatha Christie

Topic

Fighting

People

Would Be

More From Agatha Christie

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

Noticing You

Coincidence

Ifs

It Is My Experience That No One, In The Course Of Conversation, Can Fail To Give Themselves Away Sooner Or Later. Everyone Has An Irresistible Urge To Talk About Themselves.

Giving

Failing

Conversation

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

Evil

Literature

Superhuman

Where Large Sums Of Money Are Concerned, It Is Advisable To Trust Nobody.

Trust

Money

Memorable

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

Writing

People

Comfort

If You Love, You Will Suffer, And If You Do Not Love, You Do Not Know The Meaning Of A Christian Life.

Christian

Love You

Suffering

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

Very Few Of Us Are What We Seem.

Literature

Seems

What's Wrong With My Proposition?" Poirot Rose. "if You Will Forgive Me For Being Personal-i Do Not Like Your Face, M. Ratchett.

Rose

Forgive Me

Forgiving

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

Voice

Ugly

Faces

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

One Never Quite Allows For The Moron In Our Midst.

Midst

Moron

Coffee In England Always Tastes Like A Chemistry Experiment.

Coffee

Taste

England

These Little Grey Cells. It Is Up To Them.

Cells

Literature

Littles

Everyone Likes Talking About Himself. - Hercule Poirot

Talking

Likes

Hercule Poirot

I Live Now On Borrowed Time, Waiting In The Anteroom For The Summons That Will Inevitably Come. And Then - I Go On To The Next Thing, Whatever It Is. One Doesn't, Luckily, Have To Bother About That.

Death

Waiting

Dying

Every Man Should Have Aunts. They Illustrate The Triumph Of Guess Work Over Logic.

Men

Aunt

Should Have

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

Doctors Can Do Almost Anything Nowadays, Can't They, Unless They Kill You While They're Trying To Cure You.

Death

Science

Doctors

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

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

Too Much Safety Is Abhorrent To The Nature Of A Human Being.

Safety

Abhorrent

Too Much

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

Despise

Things To Do

Courses

The Simplest Explanation Is Always The Most Likely.

Explanation

Simplest

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

Adam

Said

Knows

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

... Obsessions Are Always Dangerous.

Obsession

Dangerous

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

Impossible

Arise

Conversation

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

Missing

Miss Marple

Realising

Evil Is Not Any Superhuman, But It Is Human.

Evil

Superhuman

Humans

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

Book

Way

Exes

Instinct Is A Marvelous Thing. It Can Neither Be Explained Nor Ignored.

Ignored

Instinct

Marvelous

Every Murderer Is Probably Somebody's Old Friend.

Funny Friend

Old Friends

Literature

There Is Nothing So Dangerous For Anyone Who Has Something To Hide As Conversation!... A Human Being, Hastings, Cannot Resist Theopportunity To Reveal Himself And Express His Personality Which Conversation Gives Him. Every Time He Will Give Himself Away.

Women

Giving

Personality

Things Never Come When They Are Expected.

Expectations

Expected

The Impossible Could Not Have Happened, Therefore The Impossible Must Be Possible In Spite Of Appearances.

Inspirational

Life

Impossible

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

Sound

Hercule Poirot

Remarks

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

Heart

Blow

Forgiving

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

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

Ah, But Life Is Like That! It Does Not Permit You To Arrange And Order It As You Will. It Will Not Permit You To Escape Emotion, To Live By The Intellect And By Reason! You Cannot Say, 'i Will Feel So Much And No More.' Life, Mr. Welman, Whatever Else It Is, Is Not Reasonable. [hercule Poirot]

Order

Life Is Like

Doe

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'm Not Often Bored,' I Assured Her. "life's Not Long Enough For That.

Long

Bored

Enough

I Looked At Her. Sheila Was My Girl--the Girl I Wanted--and Wanted For Keeps. But It Wasn't Any Use Having Illusions About Her. Sheila Was A Liar And Probably Always Would Be A Liar. It Was Her Way Of Fighting For Survival--the Quick Easy Glib Denial. It Was A Child's Weapon--and She'd Probably Never Got Out Of Using It. If I Wanted Sheila, I Must Accept Her As She Was--be At Hand To Prop Up The Weak Places. We've All Got Our Weak Places. Mine Were Different From Sheila's, But They Were There.

Girl

Children

Liars

In My End Is My Beginning - That's What People Are Always Saying. But What Does It Mean?

Mean

People

Doe

Surfing Is Like That. You Are Either Vigorously Cursing Or Else You Are Idiotically Pleased With Yourself.

Sports

Surfing

Cursing

The Past Is The Father Of The Present.

Father

Past

Poirot," I Said. "i Have Been Thinking." "an Admirable Exercise My Friend. Continue It.

Exercise

Thinking

Said

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

Men

Thinking

Admiration

Imagination Is A Good Servant, And A Bad Master.

Imagination

Masters

Servant

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

Wrath

Impossible

Should

Until One Looks Back On One's Own Past One Fails To Realise What An Extraordinary View Of The World A Child Has.

Children

Past

Views

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

Youth Is A Failing Only Too Easily Outgrown.

Youth

Failing

Nobody Knows What Another Person Is Thinking. They May Imagine They Do, But They Are Nearly Always Wrong.

Thinking

May

Imagine

Bitterness Leads Nowhere. It Turns Back On Itself. It Is The Eternal Cul-de-sac.

Bitterness

Turns

Eternal

One Must Make One's Own Mistakes

Mistake

There Is No Telling What A Human Character Is. Until The Test Comes. To Most Of Us The Test Comes Early In Life. A Man Is Confronted Quite Soon With The Necessity To Stand On His Own Feet, To Face Dangers And Difficulties And To Take His Own Line Of Dealing With Them. It May Be The Straight Way, It May Be The Crooked Way --- Whichever It Is, A Man Usually Learns Early Just What He Is Made Of.

Character

Men

Feet

Assumptions Are Dangerous Things.

Assumption

Dangerous

Dangerous Things

I Do Not Argue With Obstinate Men. I Act In Spite Of Them.

Men

Arguing

Spite

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

Mistake

Hearing

Wrong Time

Nobody Believes In Magicians Any More, Nobody Believes That Anyone Can Come Along And Wave A Wand And Turn You Into A Frog. But If You Read In The Paper That By Injecting Certain Glands Scientists Can Alter Your Vital Tissues And You'll Develop Froglike Characteristics, Well, Everybody Would Believe That.

Believe

Paper

Frogs

You Know, Emily Was A Selfish Old Woman In Her Way. She Was Very Generous, But She Always Wanted A Return. She Never Let People Forget What She Had Done For Them - And, That Way She Missed Love.

Selfish

People

Done

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

World

Clue

Happenings

Ideas Are Like Everything Else. They've Got To Be Marketed.

Ideas

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

Simple

Achievement

Great Inventions

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

Believe

Water

Pool

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

Appreciate

Age

Aging

I Am All That There Is Of The Most Real.

Real

That Is Why Most Great Love Stories Are Tragedies.

Great Love

Tragedy

Stories

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

Lying

People

Way

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

If You've Had A Happy Childhood, Nobody Can Take That Away From You.

Childhood

Away From You

Happy Childhood

Love Is Not Everything ... It Is Only When We Are Young That We Think It Is.

Love Is

Thinking

Young

With Method And Logic One Can Accomplish Anything.

Logic

Method

Accomplish

Does The Real Thing Ever Have The Perfection Of A Stage Performance?

Real

Stage Performance

Perfection

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

Lie Is More Worth Living, More Full Of Interest When You Are Likely To Lose It. It Shouldn't Be, Perhaps, But It Is. When You're Young And Strong And Healthy, And Life Stretches Ahead Of You, Living Isn't Really Important At All. It's Young People Who Commit Suicide Easily, Out Of Despair From Love, Sometimes From Sheer Anxiety And Worry. But Old People Know How Valuable Life Is And How Interesting. - Jane Marple

Suicide

Strong

Lying

To All Those Who Lead Monotonous Lives In The Hope That They May Experience At Second Hand The Delights And Dangers Of Adventure. [author's Dedication]

Adventure

Dedication

Monotonous Life

To Keep Something Wild Is Far More Difficult Than To Preserve It.

Difficult

Preserves

With Thought, All Problems Can Be Resolved.

Problem

I Have Always Been So Sure - Too Sure... But Now I Am Very Humble And I Say Like A Little Child: "i Do Not Know..."

Children

Humble

Littles

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

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

Mystery

Clergymen

Unsolved Mysteries

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

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

Missing

Overcoming

Plymouth

I Think, Myself, That One's Memories Represent Those Moments Which, Insignificant As They May Seem, Nevertheless Represent The Inner Self And Oneself As Most Really Oneself.

Memories

Thinking

Self

Oh, No, I'm Not Brave. When A Thing Is Certain, There's Nothing To Be Brave About. All You Can Do Is To Find Your Consolation.

Courage

Brave

Certain

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

Thinking

Needs

Deals

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

Writers Are Diffident Creatures -- They Need Encouragement.

Encouragement

Needs

Need Encouragement

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

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

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

Men

Sheep

Helping

One Must Accept The Fact That We Have Only One Companion In This World, A Companion Who Accompanies Us From The Cradle To The Grave - Our Own Self. Get On Good Terms With That Companion - Learn To Live With Yourself.

Accompany Us

Self

World

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

More Children Suffer From Interference Than From Non-interference.

Children

Suffering

Interference

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

Feelings

Emotion

Felt

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

An Appreciative Listener Is Always Stimulating.

Appreciative

Listeners

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

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 Specialize In Murders Of Quiet, Domestic Interest.

Murder Mysteries

Literature

Quiet

When Engaged In Eating, The Brain Should Be The Servant Of The Stomach.

Brain

Eating

Should

Heather Badcock Meant No Harm. She Never Did Mean Harm, But There Is No Doubt That People Like Heather Badcock (and Like My Old Friend Alison Wilde), Are Capable Of Doing A Lot Of Harm Because They Lack - Not Kindness, They Have Kindness - But Any Real Consideration For The Way Their Actions May Affect Other People. She Though Always Of What An Action Meant To Her, Never Sparing A Thought To What It Might Mean To Somebody Else.

Kindness

Real

Mean

Speech ... Is An Invention Of Man's To Prevent Him From Thinking.

Men

Thinking

Speech

Is There Ever Any Particular Spot Where One Can Put One's Finger And Say, "it All Began That Day, At Such A Time And Such A Place, With Such An Incident?

Incidents

Spots

Fingers

It Is Completely Unimportant. That Is Why It Is So Interesting.

Interesting

Unimportant

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

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

One Does See So Much Evil In A Village,' Murmured Miss Marple In An Explanatory Voice.

Voice

Evil

Missing

Authors Were Shy, Unsociable Creatures, Atoning For Their Lack Of Social Aptitude By Inventing Their Own Companions And Conversations.

Writing

Shy

Aptitude

Lawyers Never Go To Law, Do They? They Know Better.

Law

Lawyer

Knows

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

People

Mets

Certain

Never Worry About What You Say To A Man. They're So Conceited That They Never Believe You Mean It If It's Unflattering.

Believe

Mean

Men

Everything That Has Existed, Lingers In The Eternity.

Literature

Eternity

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

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

Appeals

Tempted

For In The Long Run, Either Through A Lie, Or Through Truth, People Were Bound To Give Themselves Away.

Running

Lying

Long

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

The First Time You Do A Thing Is Always Exciting.

Firsts

First Time

Exciting

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

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

Marriage Is An Extraordinary Thing - And I Doubt If Any Outsider - Even A Child Of The Marriage - Has The Right To Judge.

Children

Judging

Doubt

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

Romance

Mystery

Remove

And If You Cast Down An Idol, There's Nothing Left.

Idols

Casts

Left

Do You Know My Friend That Each One Of Us Is A Dark Mystery, A Maze Of Conflicting Passions And Desire And Aptitudes?

Passion

Dark

Desire

I Don't Go In For Being Sorry For People. For One Thing It's Insulting. One Is Only Sorry For People When They're Sorry For Themselves. Self-pity Is One Of The Biggest Stumbling Blocks In The World Today.

Sorry

Block

Our World

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

Never Do Anything Yourself That Others Can Do For You.

Memorable

Crime Novels

Literature

And Yet," Said Poirot, "suppose An Accident-" "ah, No, My Friend-" "from Your Point Of View It Would Be Regrettable, I Agree. But Nevertheless Let Us Just For One Moment Suppose It. Then, Perhaps, All These Here Are Linked Together - By Death.

Views

Together

Would Be

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

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

Use

Guessing

Detectives

Time Is The Best Killer.

Killers

There Is Evil Everywhere Under The Sun.

Evil

Sun

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

Death Coming

Afraid Of Death

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

He Laughs Best Who Laughs At The End.

Laughing

Ends

Beastly Things, Teeth. Give Us Trouble From The Cradle To The Grave.

Giving

Teeth

Trouble

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

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

Men

Umpires

Evil

Vous Eprouves Trop D'emotion, Hastings, It Affects Your Hands And Your Wits. Is That A Way To Fold A Coat? And Regard What You Have Done To My Pyjamas. If The Hairwash Breaks What Will Befall Them?' 'good Heavens, Poirot,' I Cried, 'this Is A Matter Of Life And Death. What Does It Matter What Happens To Our Clothes?' 'you Have No Sense Of Proportion Hastings. We Cannot Catch A Train Earlier Than The Time That It Leaves, And To Ruin One's Clothes Will Not Be The Least Helpful In Preventing A Murder.

Hands

Clothes

Life And Death

Do You Believe In The Value Of Truth, My Dear, Or Don’t You?” “of Course I Believe In The Truth,” Said Rhoda, Staring. “yes, You Say That, But Perhaps You Haven’t Thought About It. The Truth Hurts Sometimes – And Destroys One’s Illusions.” “i’d Rather Have It All The Same.” Said Rhoda. “so Would I. But I Don’t Know That We’re Wise.” Mrs. Oliver; Rhoda Dawes

Wise

Hurt

Believe

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

Fear Is Incomplete Knowledge.

Incomplete Knowledge

Incomplete

Curious Things, Habits. People Themselves Never Knew They Had Them.

Ghouls

People

Literature

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

Dear Ones

Doubt

Wish

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

Return

Nostalgia

Courses

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

Truth, However Bitter, Can Be Accepted, And Woven Into A Design For Living.

Truth

Design

Woven

The Young People Think The Old People Are Fools -- But The Old People Know The Young People Are Fools.

Thinking

People

Fool

To Win A War Is As Disasterous As To Lose One.

War

Winning

Loses

Elephants Can Remember, But We Are Human Beings And Mercifully Human Beings Can Forget.

Elephants

Remember

Forget

Everything Has Got Its Right Size. When It Is Its Right Size And Well Run It's The Tops.

Running

Size

Wells

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

Then There Are Some Minor Points That Strike Me As Suggestive - For Instance, The Position Of Mrs. Hubbard's Sponge Bag, The Name Of Mrs. Armstrong's Mother, The Detective Methods Of Mr. Hardman, The Suggestion Of Mr. Macqueen That Ratchett Himself Destroyed The Charred Note We Found, Princess Dragomiroff's Christian Name, And A Grease Spot On A Hungarian Passport.

Christian

Mother

Princess

Men Don't Understand How Their Mannerisms Can Get On Women's Nerves So That You Feel You Just Have To Snap.

Men

Nerves

Feels

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

Inspirational

Christian

Mother And Daughter

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

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

One Does What One Can, Not What One Cannot.

Life

Inspirational Life

Doe

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

Real Evidence Is Usually Vague And Unsatisfactory. It Has To Be Examined---sifted. But Here The Whole Thing Is Cut And Dried. No, My Friend, This Evidence Has Been Very Cleverly Manufactured---so Cleverly That It Has Defeated Its Own Ends.

Real

Cutting

Defeated

The Truth, However Ugly In Itself, Is Always Curious And Beautiful To Seekers After It.

Beautiful

Ugly

Curious

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

Facts

Rooms

Murderer

I Learned ... That One Can Never Go Back, That One Should Not Ever Try To Go Back - That The Essence Of Life Is Going Forward. Life Is Really A One Way Street, Isn't It?

Essence

Trying

Way

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

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

Nurses - Nurses, You'm All The Same. Full Of Cheerfulness Over Other People's Troubles.

Nurse

People

Trouble

It Is A Curious Thought, But It Is Only When You See People Looking Ridiculous That You Realize Just How Much You Love Them.

Love

Cute

Confused

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

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

Writing

Autobiography

Sooner Or Later

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

Strong

Men

Weak Man

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

Reflection

Things In Life

Remember

The Steamship Whose Machinery Is Broken May Be Brought Into Port And Made Fast To The Dock. She Is Safe, But Not Sound. Repairs May Last A Long Time. Christ Designs To Make Us Both Safe And Sound. Justification Gives The First - Safety; Sanctification Gives Us The Second - Soundness.

Safe And Sound

Long

Safety

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

Use That Fluff Of Yours You Call A Brain.

Brain

Use

Fluff

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

Winning

People

Giving

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

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

Clever

Undoing

Cleverness

I've Always Noticed That If You Speak The Truth In A Rather Silly Way Nobody Believes You.

Believe

Silly

Way

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

Thinking

Past

Alive

You Want Beauty,' Said Hercules Poirot. 'beauty At Any Price. For Me, It Is Truth. I Want Always Truth.

Healing

Want

Said

The Saddest Thing In Life And The Hardest To Live Through, Is The Knowledge That There Is Someone You Love Very Much Whom You Cannot Save From Suffering.

Things In Life

Suffering

Someone You Love

Courage Is The Resolution To Face The Unforeseen.

Faces

Resolution

Unforeseen

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

Conversation

Dangerous

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

Retirement

Imagine

Monotony

There Is No Question Of Defence. I Have Always Acted In Accordance With The Dictates Of My Conscience. I Have Nothing With Which To Reproach Myself.

Defence

Reproach

Conscience

But I Know Human Nature, My Friend, And I Tell You That, Suddenly Confronted With The Possibility Of Being Tried For Murder, The Most Innocent Person Will Lose His Head And Do The Most Absurd Things.

Innocent Person

Murder

Human Nature

There Is Nothing More Thrilling In This World, I Think, Than Having A Child That Is Yours, And Yet Is Mysteriously A Stranger.

Children

Reality

Thinking

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

I Can Think Of Nothing More Soul Destroying In Life Than To Persist In Trying To Do A Thing You Want Desperately To Do Well, And To Know That You Are At The Best Second Rate.

Happiness

Success

Thinking

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

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 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

At My Time Of Life, One Knows That The Worst Is Usually True.

Worst

My Time

Knows

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

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

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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