Background Image
...
Violence Is Sometimes A Duty.
-Arthur Conan Doyle
...
Please Wait....
Translating....

Violence Is Sometimes A

Arthur Conan Doyle
...
Violence Is Sometimes A Duty.

Understanding the Quote: "violence is sometimes a duty...."

This quote by Arthur Conan Doyle reflects deeply on the theme of peace. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Peace, War, Violence, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Arthur Conan Doyle interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle is celebrated for insightful thoughts on peace and war. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

Views: 4
Topic
Peace
War
Violence
More From Arthur Conan Doyle
It Is Only Goodness Which Gives Extras, And So I Say Again That We Have Much To Hope From The Flowers.
Flower
Giving
Goodness
The Ways Of Fate Are Indeed Hard To Understand. If There Is Not Some Compensation Hereafter, Then The World Is A Cruel Jest.
Fate
Way
World
"i Can See Nothing," Said I, Handing It Back To My Friend. "on The Contrary, Watson, You Can See Everything. You Fail, However, To Reason From What You See. You Are Too Timid In Drawing Your Inferences."
Friendship
Failure
Drawing
So It Was, My Dear Watson, That At Two O'clock Today I Found Myself In My Old Armchair In My Own Old Room, And Only Wishing That I Could Have Seen My Old Friend Watson In The Other Chair Which He Has So Often Adorned. - Sherlock Holmes.
Two
Old Friends
Wish
You Yourself May Not Be Luminous, But You Are A Conductor Of Light.
Light
May
Hounds
There Is A Soul-jealousy That Can Be As Frantic As Any Body-jealousy.
Soul
Body
Frantic
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.
Hands
Weather
Trying
Really, Watson, You Excel Yourself," Said Holmes, Pushing Back His Chair And Lighting A Cigarette. "i Am Bound To Say That In All The Accounts Which You Have Been So Good As To Give Of My Own Small Achievements You Have Habitually Underrated Your Own Abilities. It May Be That You Are Not Yourself Luminous, But You Are A Conductor Of Light. Some People Without Possessing Genius Have A Remarkable Power Of Stimulating It. I Confess, My Dear Fellow, That I Am Very Much In Your Debt.
Light
Giving
People
You Never Tire Of The Moor. You Cannot Think The Wonderful Secrets Which It Contains. It Is So Vast, And So Barren, And So Mysterious.
Thinking
Secret
Mysterious
Do You Know Anything On Earth Which Has Not A Dangerous Side If It Is Mishandled And Exaggerated?
Earth
Sides
Danger
When A Doctor Does Go Wrong He Is The First Of Criminals. He Has Nerve And He Has Knowledge.
Knowledge
Doctors
Doe
The World Is Big Enough For Us. No Ghosts Need Apply.
Needs
World
Ghost
To A Great Mind, Nothing Is Little,' Remarked Holmes, Sententiously.
Mind
Littles
Great Minds
It Is More Than Possible; It Is Probable.
It Is An Old Maxim Of Mine That When You Have Excluded The Impossible, Whatever Remains, However Improbable, Must Be The Truth.
Inspirational
Truth
Philosophy
One Must Wait Till It Comes.
Waiting
Skill Is Fine, And Genius Is Splendid, But The Right Contacts Are More Valuable Than Either.
Skills
Genius
Splendid
I Have Mastered The Principles Of Several Religions. They Have All Shocked Me By The Violence Which I Should Have To Do To My Reason To Accept The Dogmas Of Any One Of Them.
Should Have
Principles
Violence
I Am Not The Law, But I Represent Justice So Far As My Feeble Powers Go.
Power
Law
Justice
You Cannot See The Lettuce And The Dressing Without Suspecting A Salad.
Salad
Lettuce
Dressings
He Spoke Wistfully Of A Sudden Leaving, A Breaking Of Old Ties, A Flight Into A Strange World, Ending In This Dreary Valley, And Ettie Listened, Her Dark Eyes Gleaming With Pity And With Sympathy - Those Two Qualities Which May Turn So Rapidly And So Naturally To Love.
Eye
Dark
Compassion
If My Future Were Black, It Was Better Surely To Face It Like A Man Than To Attempt To Brighten It By Mere Will-o’-the-wisps Of The Imagination.
Men
Imagination
Black
The Approach To The Offices Of Girdlestone And Co. Was Not A Very Dignified One, Nor Would The Uninitiated Who Traversed It Form Any Conception Of The Commercial Prosperity Of The Firm In Question.
Book
Office
Prosperity
Life, It Turns Out, Is Infinitely More Clever And Adaptable Than Anyone Had Ever Supposed.
Clever
Turns
Adaptable
You Know My Methods. Apply Them.
Statistics
Method
Holmes
No: I Am Not Tired. I Have A Curious Constitution. I Never Remember Feeling Tired By Work, Though Idleness Exhausts Me Completely." ~ Sherlock Holmes
Tired
Feelings
Constitution
We Had Got As Far As This, When Who Should Walk In But The Gentleman Himself, Who Had Been Drinking His Beer In The Taproom And Had Heard The Whole Conversation. Who Was I? What Did I Want? What Did I Mean By Asking Questions? He Had A Fine Flow Of Language, And His Adjectives Were Very Vigorous.
Humorous
Drinking
Mean
So Tomorrow We Disappear Into The Unknown. This Account I Am Transmitting Down The River By Canoe, And It May Be Our Last Word To Those Who Are Interested In Our Fate.
Fate
Rivers
May
The Husband Was A Teetotaller, There Was No Other Woman, And The Conduct Complained Of Was That He Had Drifted Into The Habit Of Winding Up Every Meal By Taking Out His False Teeth And Hurling Them At His Wife.
Husband
Wife
Teeth
Every Man Finds His Limitations, Mr. Holmes, But At Least It Cures Us Of The Weakness Of Self-satisfaction.
Men
Self
Weakness
I Am A Brain, Watson. The Rest Of Me Is A Mere Appendix.
Brain
Appendix
Mere
I Never Guess. It Is A Shocking Habit Destructive To The Logical Faculty.
Science
Literature
Logic
I Should Be Very Much Obliged If You Would Slip Your Revolver Into Your Pocket. An Eley's No. 2 Is An Excellent Argument With Gentlemen Who Can Twist Steel Pokers Into Knots. That And A Tooth-brush Are, I Think, All That We Need.
Thinking
Gentleman
Twists
There Is A Danger There - A Very Real Danger To Humanity. Consider, Watson, That The Material, The Sensual, The Worldly Would All Prolong Their Worthless Lives. The Spiritual Would Not Avoid The Call To Something Higher. It Would Be The Survival Of The Least Fit. What Sort Of Cesspool May Not Our Poor World Become?
Spiritual
Real
Humanity
The Most Difficult Crime To Track Is The One Which Is Purposeless.
Track
Literature
Crime
My Business Is That Of Every Other Good Citizen - To Uphold The Law.
Law
Citizens
Good Citizen
Any Truth Is Better Than Indefinite Doubt.
Book
Historical
Doubt
Steel True, Blade Straight.
Tombstone
Steel
Blades
The Devil’s Agents May Be Of Flesh And Blood, May They Not?
Blood
Devil
Agents
Depend Upon It, There Is Nothing So Unnatural As The Commonplace.
Commonplace
Depends
Unnatural
It Isn't True That The Laws Of Nature Have Been Capriciously Disturbed; That Snakes Have Talked; That Women Have Been Turned Into Salt; That Rods Have Brought Water Out Of Rocks.
Rocks
Law
Snakes
A Study In Scarlet, Eh? Why Shouldn't We Use A Little Art Jargon? There's The Scarlet Thread Of Murder Running Through The Colourless Skein Of Life, And Our Duty Is To Unravel It, And Isolate It, And Expose Every Inch Of It.
Running
Art
Use
His Incredible Untidiness, His Addiction To Music At Strange Hours, His Occasional Revolver Practice Within Doors, His Weird And Often Malodorous Scientific Experiments, And The Atmosphere Of Violence And Danger Which Hung Around Him Made Him The Very Worst Tenant In London.
Doors
Practice
Addiction
I Don't Speak For Others And They Don't Speak For Me.
Speak
When Such Men, Who Are Beyond Hope And Fear, Begin In Their Dim Minds To See The Source Their Woes, It May Be An Evil Time For Those Who Have Wronged Them. The Weak Man Becomes Strong When He Has Nothing, For Then Only Can He Feel The Wild, Mad Thrill Of Despair.
Strong
Men
Weak Man
Brothers Are A Blessing For One Thing. There Is No Possibility Of Any Young Lady Getting Unreasonably Conceited If She Be Endowed With Them.
Brother
Humorous
Sarcasm
A Hound It Was, An Enormous Coal-black Hound, But Not Such A Hound As Mortal Eyes Have Ever Seen. Fire Burst From Its Open Mouth, Its Eyes Glowed With A Smouldering Glare, Its Muzzle And Hackles And Dewlap Were Outlined In Flickering Flame. Never In The Delirious Dream Of A Disordered Brain Could Anything More Savage, More Appalling, More Hellish Be Conceived Than That Dark Form And Savage Face Which Broke Upon Us Out Of The Wall Of Fog.
Dream
Wall
Eye
It Is A Mistake To Confound Strangeness With Mystery.
Mistake
Mystery
Strangeness
There Are Times, Young Fellah, When Every One Of Us Must Make A Stand For Human Right And Justice, Or You Never Feel Clean Again.
Justice
Clean
Young
I Felt Holmes's Hand Steal Into Mine And Give Me A Reassuring Shake. - Watson
Hands
Giving
Reassuring
Some Facts Should Be Suppressed, Or, At Least, A Just Sense Of Proportion Should Be Observed In Treating Them.
Justice
Facts
Should
We Have Much To Hope From The Flowers.
Flower
Plant
Embellishment
To The Man Who Loves Art For Its Own Sake, It Is Frequently In Its Least Important And Lowliest Manifestations That The Keenest Pleasure Is To Be Derived.
Art
Men
Important
What One Man Can Invent, Another Can Discover.
Men
Holmes
One Man
There Seems To Me To Be Absolutely No Limit To The Inanity And Credulity Of The Human Race. Homo Sapiens! Homo Idioticus!
Humorous
Sarcasm
Race
It Was An Ideal Spring Day, A Light Blue Sky, Flecked With Little Fleecy White Clouds Drifting Across From West To East. The Sun Was Shining Very Brightly, And Yet There Was An Exhilarating Nip In The Air, Which Set An Edge To A Man's Energy.
Spring
Men
Clouds
Anything Is Better Than Stagnation.
Stagnation
The Good Watson Had At That Time Deserted Me For A Wife, The Only Selfish Action I Can Recall In Our Association. I Was Alone.
Selfish
Wife
Association
There Is No Satisfaction In Vengeance Unless The Offender Has Time To Realize Who It Is That Strikes Him, And Why Retribution Has Come Upon Him.
Satisfaction
Vengeance
Realizing
"there Are One Or Two Elementary Rules To Be Observed In The Way Of Handling Patients," He Remarked, Seating Himself On The Table And Swinging His Legs. "the Most Obvious Is That You Must Never Let Them See That You Want Them. It Should Be Pure Condescension On Your Part Seeing Them At All; And The More Difficulties You Throw In The Way Of It, The More They Think Of It. Break Your Patients In Early, And Keep Them Well To Heel."
Humorous
Sarcasm
Thinking
You Have Done All The Work In This Business. I Get A Wife Out Of It, Jones Gets The Credit, Pray What Remains For You?" "for Me," Said Sherlock Holmes, "there Still Remains The Cocaine Bottle.
Wife
Bottles
Credit
My Uncle, Mr. Stephen Maple, Had Been At The Same Time The Most Successful And The Least Respectable Of Our Family, So That We Hardly Knew Whether To Take Credit For His Wealth Or To Feel Ashamed Of His Position.
Uncles
Humorous
Successful
His Sanguine Spirit Turns Every Firefly Into A Star.
Stars
Firefly
Spirit
Ex-professor Moriarty Of Mathematical Celebrity... Is The Napoleon Of Crime, Watson.
Crime
Professors
Mathematical
I Am The Most Incurably Lazy Devil That Ever Stood In Shoe Leather.
Shoes
Lazy
Devil
Let Me Run Over The Principal Steps. We Approached The Case, You Remember, With An Absolutely Blank Mind, Which Is Always An Advantage. We Had Formed No Theories. We Were Simply There To Observe And To Draw Inferences From Our Observations.
Running
Blank Mind
Steps
When You Have One Of The First Brains Of Europe Up Against You, And All The Powers Of Darkness At His Back, There Are Infinite Possibilities.
Europe
Darkness
Brain
It Is A Fool's Plan To Teach A Man To Be A Cur In Peace, And Think That He Will Be A Lion In War.
War
Men
Thinking
Goresthorpe Grange Is A Feudal Mansion - Or So It Was Termed In The Advertisement Which Originally Brought It Under My Notice. Its Right To This Adjective Had A Most Remarkable Effect Upon Its Price, And The Advantages Gained May Possibly Be More Sentimental Than Real. Still, It Is Soothing To Me To Know That I Have Slits In My Staircase Through Which I Can Discharge Arrows; And There Is A Sense Of Power In The Fact Of Possessing A Complicated Apparatus By Means Of Which I Am Enabled To Pour Molten Lead Upon The Head Of The Casual Visitor.
Real
Humorous
Mean
Keep Your Revolver Near You Night And Day, And Never Relax Your Precautions.
Gun
Night
Relax
Too Much! Wait Till You Have Lived Here Longer. Look Down The Valley! See The Cloud Of A Hundred Chimneys That Overshadows It! I Tell You That The Cloud Of Murder Hangs Thicker And Lower Than That Over The Heads Of The People. It Is The Valley Of Fear, The Valley Of Death. The Terror Is In The Hearts Of The People From The Dusk To The Dawn. Wait, Young Man, And You Will Learn For Yourself.
Heart
Men
Clouds
We Can't Command Our Love, But We Can Our Actions.
Love
Our Actions
Command
'there's No Need For Fiction In Medicine,' Remarks Foster... 'for The Facts Will Always Beat Anything You Fancy.'
Science
Medicine
Needs
There Is A Mystery About This Which Stimulates The Imagination; Where There Is No Imagination There Is No Horror.
Imagination
Mystery
Horror
I Am Not A Very Good Man, Effie, But I Think That I Am A Better One Than You Have Given Me Credit For Being.
Men
Thinking
Good Man
Three Quiet Days. This Hell Fiend Is Like A Cat With A Mouse. She Lets Me Loose Only To Pounce Upon Me Again. I Am Never So Frightened As When Every Thing Is Still.
Cat
Animal
Three
It May Be That You Are Not Yourself Luminous, But That You Are A Conductor Of Light. Some People Without Possessing Genius Have A Remarkable Power Of Stimulating It.
Light
People
Genius
There Are Fifty Who Can Reason Synthetically For One Who Can Reason Analytically.
Fifty
Reason
In The Year 1878 I Took My Degree Of Doctor Of Medicine Of The University Of London, And Proceeded To Netley To Go Through The Course Prescribed For Surgeons In The Army. Having Completed My Studies There, I Was Duly Attached To The Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers As Assistant Surgeon.
Book
Army
Doctors
I Feel That There Is Reason Lurking In You Somewhere, So We Will Patiently Grope Round For It.
Humorous
Sarcasm
Reason
Our Ideas Must Be As Broad As Nature If They Are To Interpret Nature.
Nature
Science
Ideas
Perhaps, When A Man Has Special Knowledge And Special Powers Like My Own, It Rather Encourages Him To Seek A Complex Explanation When A Simpler One Is At Hand.
Men
Hands
Special
The Great Bell Of Beaulieu Was Ringing. Far Away Through The Forest Might Be Heard Its Musical Clangor And Swell.
Book
Musical
Bells
It Is Quite A Three-pipe Problem.
Smoking
Three
Problem
The Weak Man Becomes Strong When He Has Nothing, For Then Only Can He Feel The Wild, Mad Thrill Of Despair.
Strong
Men
Weak Man
Mr. Sherlock Holmes, Who Was Usually Very Late In The Mornings, Save Upon Those Not Infrequent Occasions When He Was Up All Night, Was Seated At The Breakfast Table. I Stood Upon The Hearth-rug And Picked Up The Stick Which Our Visitor Had Left Behind Him The Night Before.
Morning
Book
Heart
A Man With So Large A Brain Must Have Something In It.
Men
Brain
There Are Heroisms All Round Us Waiting To Be Done.
Waiting
Heroism
Done
I Think That I Had Better Go, Holmes." "not A Bit, Doctor. Stay Where You Are. I Am Lost Without My Boswell.
Thinking
Doctors
Lost
Excellent!" I Cried. "elementary," Said He.
Classic
Easy
Excellent
I Think You Want A Little Unofficial Help. Three Undetected Murders In One Year Won't Do, Lestrade. But You Handled The Molesey Mystery With Less Than Your Usual - That's To Say, You Handled It Fairly Well.
Humorous
Sarcasm
Thinking
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.
Memorable
Unrequited Love
Men
Clouds Of Insects Danced And Buzzed In The Golden Autumn Light, And The Air Was Full Of The Piping Of The Song-birds. Long, Glinting Dragonflies Shot Across The Path, Or Hung Tremulous With Gauzy Wings And Gleaming Bodies.
Song
Autumn
Light
How Wise And How Merciful Is That Provision Of Nature By Which His Earthly Anchor Is Usually Loosened By Many Little Imperceptible Tugs, Until His Consciousness Has Drifted Out Of Its Untenable Earthly Harbor Into The Great Sea Beyond!
Wise
Ocean
Anchors
Yet Birth, And Lust, And Illness, And Death Are Changeless Things, And When One Of These Harsh Facts Springs Out Upon A Man At Some Sudden Turn Of The Path Of Life, It Dashes Off For The Moment His Mask Of Civilization And Gives A Glimpse Of The Stranger And Stronger Face Below.
Spring
Men
Civilization
For The One And Only Time I Caught A Glimpse Of A Great Heart As Well As Of A Great Brain.
Heart
Brain
Glimpse
Ah! My Dear Watson, There We Come Into Those Realms Of Conjecture, Where The Most Logical Mind May Be At Fault. Sherlock Holmes Speaking With Dr. Watson.
Mind
Drs
May
By A Man's Finger-nails, By His Coat-sleeve, By His Boots, By His Trouser-knees, By The Callosities Of His Forefinger And Thumb, By His Expression, By His Shirt-cuff — By Each Of These Things A Man's Calling Is Plainly Revealed. That All United Should Fail To Enlighten The Competent Inquirer In Any Case Is Almost Inconceivable. You Know That A Conjurer Gets No Credit When Once He Has Explained His Trick; And If I Show You Too Much Of My Method Of Working, You Will Come To The Conclusion That I Am A Very Ordinary Individual After All.
Book
Men
Expression
You Are My Heart, My Life, My One And Only Thought.
Love
Heart
Wedding Anniversary
His Ignorance Was As Remarkable As His Knowledge.
Ignorance
Literature
Study
It Was In The Days When France's Power Was Already Broken Upon The Seas, And When More Of Her Three-deckers Lay Rotting In The Medway Than Were To Be Found In Brest Harbour. But Her Frigates And Corvettes Still Scoured The Ocean, Closely Followed Ever By Those Of Her Rival. At The Uttermost Ends Of The Earth These Dainty Vessels, With Sweet Names Of Girls Or Of Flowers, Mangled And Shattered Each Other For The Honour Of The Four Yards Of Bunting Which Flapped From The End Of Their Gaffs.
Girl
Sweet
Ocean
‎a Change Of Work Is The Best Rest.
Hot Hate Is Twin Brother To Hot Love.
Brother
Hate
Hot
Of All Ghosts The Ghosts Of Our Old Loves Are The Worst.
Silly
Literature
Ghost
Watson. Come At Once If Convenient. If Inconvenient, Come All The Same.
Holmes
Convenient
Watson
I Could Not Rest, Watson, I Could Not Sit Quiet In My Chair, If I Thought That Such A Man As Professor Moriarty Were Walking The Streets Of London Unchallenged.
Men
London
Quiet
I Wanted To End The World But,i'll Settle For Ending Yours.
World
Settling
Ends
You Would Not Call Me A Marrying Man, Watson?" "no, Indeed!" "you'll Be Interested To Hear That I'm Engaged." "my Dear Fellow! I Congrat-" "to Milverton's Housemaid." "my Dear Holmes!" "i Wanted Information, Watson.
Men
Information
Holmes
I Know, My Dear Watson, That You Share My Love Of All That Is Bizarre And Outside The Conventions And Humdrum Routine Of Daily Life.
Routine
Daily Life
Share
Why Should People Ever Take Credit For Charity When They Must Know That They Cannot Gain As Much Pleasure Out Of Their Guineas In Any Other Fashion?
Fashion
People
Credit
Man, Or At Least Criminal Man, Has Lost All Enterprise And Originality. As To My Own Little Practice, It Seems To Be Degenerating Into An Agency For Recovering Lost Lead Pencils And Giving Advice To Young Ladies From Boarding-schools.
School
Men
Agency
When People Bury Treasure Nowadays They Do It In The Post-office Bank.
People
Office
Treasure
It Is All In The Way Of Professional Experience.
Way
Holmes
Professional Experience
I Cannot Live Without Brainwork. What Else Is There To Live For
Holmes
Nature Is The True Revelation Of The Deity To Man. The Nearest Green Field Is The Inspired Page From Which You May Read All That It Is Needful For You To Know.
Men
Green Fields
May
The Love Of Books Is Among The Choicest Gifts Of The Gods.
Inspirational
Life
God
His Love Of Danger, His Intense Appreciation Of The Drama Of An Adventure--all The More Intense For Being Held Tightly In--his Consistent View That Every Peril In Life Is A Form Of Sport, A Fierce Game Betwixt You And Fate, With Death As A Forfeit, Made Him A Wonderful Companion At Such Hours.
Sports
Appreciation
Drama
I Fear That If The Matter Is Beyond Humanity, It Is Certainly Beyond Me.
Humanity
Matter
Ifs
I Am Inclined To Think -' Said I. `i Should Do So,' Sherlock Holmes Remarked Impatiently.
Thinking
Impatience
Holmes
There Was Something Awesome In The Thought Of The Solitary Mortal Standing By The Open Window And Summoning In From The Gloom Outside The Spirits Of The Nether World.
World
Spirit
Window
It's A Very Cheery Thing To Come Into London By Any Of These Lines Which Run High And Allow You To Look Down Upon The Houses Like This." I Thought He Was Joking, For The View Was Sordid Enough, But He Soon Explained Himself. "look At Those Big, Isolated Clumps Of Buildings Rising Up Above The Slates, Like Brick Islands In A Lead-coloured Sea." "the Board-schools." "light-houses, My Boy! Beacons Of The Future! Capsules With Hundreds Of Bright Little Seeds In Each, Out Of Which Will Spring The Wiser, Better England Of The Future.
Running
Spring
School
Accounts Are Not Quite Settled Between Us," Said She, With A Passion That Equaled My Own. "i Can Love, And I Can Hate. You Had Your Choice. You Chose To Spurn The First; Now You Must Test The Other.
Hate
Passion
Choices
Violence Is Sometimes A Duty.
Peace
War
Violence
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!
Sweet
Nature
Morning
Still, It Is An Error To Argue In Front Of Your Data. You Find Yourself Insensibly Twisting Them Round To Fit Your Theories.
Errors
Data
Finding Yourself
You Have Been In Afghanistan I Perceive.
Afghanistan
Perceive
Has Beens
I Have My Own Views About Nature's Methods, Though I Feel That It Is Rather Like A Beetle Giving His
Nature
Humorous
Sarcasm
The More Outré And Grotesque An Incident Is The More Carefully It Deserves To Be Examined.
Hounds
Incidents
Grotesque
It Is Quite A Three Pipe Problem, And I Beg That You Won't Speak To Me For Fifty Minutes.
Smoking
Three
Fifty
It Is Not My Intention To Be Fulsome, But I Confess That I Covet Your Skull.
Skulls
Intention
Moriarty
You See, But You Do Not Observe.
Curiosity
Statistics
Detectives
[sherlock Holmes:] The Temptation To Form Premature Theories Upon Insufficient Data Is The Bane Of Our Profession.
Data
Temptation
Form
…but It Is Better To Learn Wisdom Late Than Never To Learn It At All.
Holmes
Late
It Is Always A Joy To Meet An American, Mr. Moulton, For I Am One Of Those Who Believes That The Folly Of A Monarch And The Blundering Of A Minister In Far-gone Years Will Not Prevent Our Children From Being Some Day Citizens Of The Same World-wide Country Under A Flag Which Shall Be A Quartering Of The Union Jack With The Stars And Stripes.
Country
Stars
Children
I Have Frequently Gained My First Real Insight Into The Character Of Parents By Studying Their Children.
Children
Real
Character
On General Principles, It Is Best That I Should Not Leave The Country. Scotland Yard Feels Lonely Without Me, And It Causes An Unhealthy Excitement Among The Criminal Classes.
Country
Lonely
Travel
It Is The Small Men And Not The Great Who Hold Their Noses In The Air.
Men
Air
Noses
I Should Dearly Love That The World Should Be Ever So Little Better For My Presence. Even On This Small Stage We Have Our Two Sides, And Something Might Be Done By Throwing All One's Weight On The Scale Of Breadth, Tolerance, Charity, Temperance, Peace, And Kindliness To Man And Beast. We Can't All Strike Very Big Blows, And Even The Little Ones Count For Something.
Men
Blow
Two Sides
There Is No Scent So Pleasant To My Nostrils As That Faint, Subtle Reek Which Comes From An Ancient Book.
Book
Scent
Ancient
It Is The Sweetest Spring Within The Memory Of Man. So Green, So Mild, So Beautiful! Ah, What A Contrast Between Nature Without And My Own Soul So Torn With Doubt And Terror!
Beautiful
Memories
Spring
Do You Know, Watson," Said He, "that It Is One Of The Curses Of A Mind With A Turn Like Mine That I Must Look At Everything With Reference To My Own Special Subject. You Look At These Scattered Houses, And You Are Impressed By Their Beauty. I Look At Them, And The Only Thought Which Comes To Me Is A Feeling Of Their Isolation And Of The Impunity With Which Crime May Be Committed There.
House
Feelings
Mind
The Adventure Of The Noble Bachelor
Silly
Adventure
Noble
The Setting Is A Worthy One, If The Devil Did Desire To Have A Hand In The Affairs Of Men.
Book
Men
Hands
If The Man Who Observes The Myriad Stars, And Considers That They And Their Innumerable Satellites Move In Their Serene Dignity Through The Heavens, Each Swinging Clear Of The Other's Orbit-if, I Say, The Man Who Sees This Cannot Realise The Creator's Attributes Without The Help Of The Book Of Job, Then His View Of Things Is Beyond My Understanding.
Jobs
Stars
Moving
...it Was A Huge Creature, Luminous, Ghastly, And Spectral. I Have Cross-examined These Men, One Of Them A Hard-headed Countryman, One A Farrier, And One A Moorland Farmer, Who All Tell The Same Story Of This Dreadful Apparition, Exactly Corresponding To The Hell-hound Of The Legend. I Assure You That There Is A Reign Of Terror In The District, And That It Is A Hardy Man Who Will Cross The Moor At Night.
Halloween
Night
Men
There Are No Crimes And No Criminals In These Days. What Is The Use Of Having Brains In Our Profession? I Know Well That I Have It In Me To Make My Name Famous. No Man Lives Or Has Ever Lived Who Has Brought The Same Amount Of Study And Of Natural Talent To The Detection Of Crime Which I Have Done. And What Is The Result? There Is No Crime To Detect, Or, At Most, Some Bungling Villainy With A Motive So Transparent That Even A Scotland Yard Official Can See Through It.
Men
Names
Scotland
Violence Does, In Truth, Recoil Upon The Violent, And The Schemer Falls Into The Pit Which He Digs For Another.
Peace
Truth
Fall
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.
Nice
Dark
Fog
Holy Men! Holy Cabbages! Holy Bean Pods! What Do They Do But Live And Suck In Sustenance And Grow Fat?
Men
Cabbage
Holy
What Can We Know? What Are We All? Poor Silly Half-brained Things Peering Out At The Infinite, With The Aspirations Of Angels And The Instinct Of Beasts.
Silly
Angel
Half
If You Had Killed Watson, You Would Not Have Got Out Of This Room Alive.
Alive
Rooms
Watson
How Sweet The Morning Air Is! ...how Small We Feel With Our Petty Ambitions And Strivings In The Presence Of The Great Elemental Forces Of Nature!
Sweet
Morning
Ambition
His Neighbor Is A Tooth-drawer. That Bag At His Girdle Is Full Of The Teeth That He Drew At Winchester Fair. I Warrant That There Are More Sound Ones Than Sorry, For He Is Quick At His Work And A Trifle Dim In The Eye.
Sorry
Humorous
Eye
It Is, I Admit, Mere Imagination; But How Often Is Imagination The Mother Of Truth?
Mother
Often Is
Imagination
I Love And Am Loved By A Better Man Than He.
Men
Better Man
Only That I Insist Upon Your Dining With Us. It Will Be Ready In Half An Hour. I Have Oysters And A Brace Of Grouse, With Something A Little Choice In White Wines. Watson, You Have Never Yet Recognized My Merits As A Housekeeper. ~ Sherlock Holmes
Wine
Oysters
White
For Strange Effects And Extraordinary Combinations We Must Go To Life Itself, Which Is Always Far More Daring Than Any Effort Of The Imagination.
Imagination
Effort
Literature
The Man Might Have Died In A Fit; But Then The Jewels Are Missing," Mused The Inspector, "ha! I Have A Theory. These Flashes Come Upon Me At Times... What Do You Think Of This, Holmes? Sholto Was, On His Own Confession, With His Brother Last Night. The Brother Died In A Fit, On Which Sholto Walked Off The Treasure! How's That?" "on Which The Dead Man Very Considerately Got Up And Locked The Door On The Inside," Said Holmes.
Brother
Thinking
Night
Should I Ever Marry, Watson, I Should Hope To Inspire My Wife With Some Feeling Which Would Prevent Her From Being Walked Off By A Housekeeper When My Corpse Was Lying Within A Few Yards Of Her.
Lying
Wife
Inspire
My Name Is Sherlock Holmes. It Is My Business To Know What Other People Do Not Know.
Business
Names
People
He Is Not A Bad Fellow, Though An Absolute Imbecile In His Profession. He Has One Positive Virtue. He Is As Brave As A Bulldog And As Tenacious As A Lobster If He Gets His Claws Upon Anyone.
Brave
Imbeciles
Bulldogs
Mediocrity Knows Nothing Higher Than Itself, But Talent Instantly Recognizes Genius.
Success
Education
Knowledge
Healthy Scepticism Is The Basis Of All Accurate Observation.
Healthy
Skepticism
Observation
So All Life Is A Great Chain, The Nature Of Which Is Known Whenever We Are Shown A Link Of It.
Links
Life Is
Chains
There's A Light In A Woman's Eyes That Speaks Louder Than Words.
Eye
Light
Speak
Art In The Blood Is Liable To Take The Strangest Forms.
Art
Blood
Liable
Well, Well, My Dear Fellow, Be It So. We Have Shared This Same Room For Some Years, And It Would Be Amusing If We Ended By Sharing The Same Cell. (...)
Cells
Years
Would Be
The Best Way Of Successfully Acting A Part Is To Be It.
Acting
Way
Best Way
There Was A Brisk Northern Wind, Heavy And Wet With The Salt Of The Sea, And He Felt, As He Turned His Face To It, Fresh Life And Strength Surging In His Blood And Bracing His Limbs.
Ocean
Blood
Wind
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.
Wall
Garden
House
“how Ever Did You See That?” “because I Looked For It.”
Cried
Inspectors
It Is A Capital Mistake To Theorize Before One Has Data.
Mistake
Math
Science
I Followed You.' I Saw No One.' That Is What You May Expect To See When I Follow You.
May
Saws
It Is A Great Thing To Start Life With A Small Number Of Really Good Books Which Are Your Very Own.
Life
Book
Small Numbers
Detection Is, Or Ought To Be, An Exact Science And Should Be Treated In The Same Cold And Unemotional Manner. You Have Attempted To Tinge It With Romanticism, Which Produces Much The Same Effect As If You Worked A Love-story ... Some Facts Should Be Suppressed, Or, At Least, A Just Sense Of Proportion Should Be Observed In Treating Them. The Only Point In The Case Which Deserved Mention Was The Curious Analytical Reasoning From Effects To Causes, By Which I Succeeded In Unravelling It.'' —sherlock Holmes On John Watson's "pamphlet", "a Study In Scarlet".
Stories
Causes
Facts
When Once Your Point Of View Is Changed, The Very Thing Which Was So Damning Becomes A Clue To The Truth.
Views
Clue
Point Of View
It Has Long Been An Axiom Of Mine That The Little Things Are Infinitely The Most Important.
Life
Wisdom
Past
I Have Already Explained To You That What Is Out Of The Common Is Usually A Guide Rather Than A Hindrance.
Common
Guides
Deductions
Of All Ruins, That Of A Noble Mind Is The Most Deplorable.
Mind
Noble
Ruins
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.
Memories
Ideas
Race
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.
Loyalty
Hurt
Heart
I Consider That A Man's Brain Originally Is Like A Little Empty Attic, And You Have To Stock It With Such Furniture As You Choose.
Funny Inspirational
Knowledge
Men
The Most Dangerous Condition For A Man Or A Nation Is When His Intellectual Side Is More Developed Than His Spiritual. Is That Not Exactly The Condition Of The World Today?
Spiritual
Men
Intellectual
I Can Never Bring You To Realize The Importance Of Sleeves, The Suggestiveness Of Thumb-nails, Or The Great Issues That May Hang From A Boot-lace.
Issues
Nails
Boots
A Fine Thought In Fine Language Is A Most Precious Jewel, And Should Not Be Hid Away, But Be Exposed For Use And Ornament.
Jewels
Ornaments
Use
The Mighty Voice Of Canada Will Ever Call To Me.
Voice
Canada
So Swift, Silent And Furtive Were His Movements Like Those Of A Trained Bloodhound Picking Out A Scent, That I Could Not But Think What A Terrible Criminal He Would Have Made Had He Turned His Energy And Sagacity Against The Law Instead Of Exerting Them In Its Defense. -dr. Watson, The Sign Of The Four
Thinking
Law
Energy
Anything Seems Commonplace, Once Explained.
Seems
Commonplace
Problems May Be Solved In The Study Which Have Baffled All Those Who Have Sought A Solution By The Aid Of Their Senses. To Carry The Art, However, To Its Highest Pitch, It Is Necessary That The Reasoner Should Be Able To Use All The Facts Which Have Come To His Knowledge; And This In Itself Implies, As You Will Readily See, A Possession Of All Knowledge, Which, Even In These Days Of Free Education And Encyclopaedias, Is A Somewhat Rare Accomplishment.
Art
Free Education
Accomplishment
From A Drop Of Water A Logician Could Infer The Possibility Of An Atlantic Or A Niagara Without Having Seen Or Heard Of One Or The Other.
Math
Water
Logic
Your Life Is Not Your Own. Keep Your Hands Off It.
Hands
Life Is
I Trust That Age Doth Not Wither Nor Custom Stale My Infinite Variety.
Humorous
Sarcasm
Age
As A Rule, The More Bizarre A Thing Is, The Less Mysterious It Proves To Be.
Book
Mysterious
Language
It Is A Capital Mistake To Theorize Before One Has Data. Insensibly One Begins To Twist Facts To Suit Theories, Instead Of Theories To Suit Facts.
Education
Mistake
Math
Even The Best Of Us Are Thrown Off Some- Times.
Thrown
To Underestimate Oneself Is As Much An Exaggeration Of One's Powers Than The Other.
Underestimate
Exaggeration
Oneself
Women Are Naturally Secretive, And They Like To Do Their Own Secreting.
Women
Literature
Holmes
Before Turning To Those Moral And Mental Aspects Of The Matter Which Present The Greatest Difficulties, Let The Inquirer Begin By Mastering More Elementary Problems.
Matter
Moral
Problem
Amberley Excelled At Chess - A Mark, Watson, Of A Scheming Mind.
Mind
Chess
Mark
I Have Heard, Mr. Holmes, That You Can See Deeply Into The Manifold Wickedness Of The Human Heart.
Heart
Wickedness
Holmes
Trending Author
Phil Jackson
John Doolittle
John Ritter
Brad Bird
Douglas William Jerrold
John Maynard Keynes
Category
Information