Topic started by Expat (@ mail.waldorf.edu) on Sun Jan 20 23:12:14 .
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Quotes from Sherlock HolmesHere is a series of quotations from the lips of
Sherlock Holmes.
"Has anything escaped me? I trust that there is nothing of consequence which I
have overlooked?"* If so, please e-mail any of your favorites to me.



On Love and Women (28)
On Crime and the Law (32)
On Dr. Watson (19)
On Holmes - a self-analysis (24)
His philosophy (25)
On education and knowlege (16)
The Whole Art of Detection (68)
Nature and Animals (9)

167 Miscellaneous Uncategorized Quotes




Come, Watson, come! The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and
come! (ABBE)
Hopkins has called me in seven times, and on each occasion his summons has
been entirely justified. (ABBE)
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. (ABBE)
What I know is unofficial; What he knows is official. I have the right to
private judgment, but he has none. He must disclose all, or he is a traitor
to his service. (ABBE)
Vox populei, vox Dei. (ABBE)
You owe a very humble apology to that noble lad, your son, who has carried
himself in this matter as I should be proud to see my own son do, should I
ever chance to have one. (BERY)
There, Watson, this infernal case had haunted me for ten days. I hereby
banish it completely from my presence. (BLAC)
There can be no question, my dear Watson, of the value of exercise before
breakfast. (BLAC)
It is a question of cubic capacity. A man with so large a brain must have
something in it. (BLUE)
When you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the Pink Un protruding out
of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet. (BLUE)
It is always awkward doing business with an alias. (BLUE)
Chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem, and its
solution is its own reward. (BLUE)
Local aid is always either worthless or else biased. (BOSC)
According to my experience it is not possible to reach the platform of a
Metropolitan train without exhibiting one's ticket. (BRUC)
I play the game for the game's own sake. (BRUC)
Although he [Lestrade] is absolutely devoid of reason, he is as tenacious as
a bulldog when he once understands what he has to do. (CARD)
I've had to do with fifty murderers in my career, but the worst of them
never gave me the repulsion which I have for this fellow. (CHAS)
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. (COPP)
I confess that it is not the situation which I should like to see a sister
of mine apply for. (COPP)
I can't make bricks without clay. (COPP)
I am glad of all details, whether they seem to you to be relevant or not.
(COPP)
My dear Watson, you as a medical man are continually gaining light as to the
tendencies of a child by the study of the parents. Don't you see that the
converse is equally valid. I have frequently gained my first real insight
into the character of parents by studying their children. (COPP)
We can but try. (CREE)
Come at once if convenient - if inconvenient come all the same. (CREE)
Sorry to see that you've had the British workman in the house. He's a token
of evil. (CROO)
It is one of those instances where the reasoner can produce an effect which
seems remarkable to his neighbor, because the latter has missed the one
little point which is the basis of the deduction. (CROO)
I have no desire to make mysteries, but it is impossible at the moment of
action to enter into long and complex explanations. (DANC)
What one man can invent, another can discover. (DANC)
The Cornish horror - strangest case I have handled. (DEVI)
To let the brain work without sufficient material is like racing an engine.
It racks itself to pieces. (DEVI)
Well, Watson, we seem to have fallen upon evil days. (DYIN)
If you approach me, Watson, I shall order you out of the house. (DYIN)
Because it is my desire. Is that not enough? (DYIN)
I wonder how a battery feels when it pours electricity into a non-conductor.
(DYIN)
Indeed, I cannot think why the whole bed of the ocean is not one solid mass
of oysters, so prolific the creatures seem. (DYIN)
Malingering is a subject upon which I have sometimes thought of writing a
monograph. (DYIN)
My correspondence is a varied one and I am somewhat upon my guard against
any packages which reach me. (DYIN)
When we have finished at the police-station I think that something
nutritious at Simpson's would not be out of place. (DYIN)
It is no joke when a tall man has to take a foot off his stature for several
hours on end. (EMPT)
Well then, about that chasm. I had no serious difficulty in getting out of
it, for the very simple reason that I never was in it. (EMPT)
I trust that age doth not wither nor custom stale my infinite variety.
(EMPT)
Journeys end in lovers' meetings. (EMPT), (REDC)
My collection of M's is a fine one. (EMPT)
My dear Watson, there we come into those realms of conjecture where the most
logical mind may be at fault. (EMPT)
In the morning you will send for a hansom, desiring your man to take neither
the first nor the second which may present itself. (FINA)
I am pleased to think that I shall be able to free society from any further
effects of his presence, though I fear that it is at a cost which will give
pain to my friends, and especially, my dear Watson to you. (FINA)
And that recommendation, with the exaggerated estimate of my ability with
which he prefaced it, was, if you will believe me, Watson, the very first
thing which ever made me feel that a profession might be made out of what
had up to that time been the merest hobby. (GLOR)
Run down, my dear fellow, and open the door, for all virtuous folk have been
long in bed. (GOLD)
Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms. (GREE)
I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues. To the
logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate
one's self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one's own
powers. (GREE)
Some of my most interesting cases have come to me in this way through
Mycroft. (GREE)
I think of writing another little monograph some of these days on the
typewriter and its relation to crime. It is a subject to which I have
devoted some little attention. (IDEN)
I thought of her for the moment as I would have thought of a daughter of my
own. (ILLU)
The wages of sin, Watson - the wages of sin! (ILLU)
Thrice is he armed who hath his quarrel just. (LADY)
Might I trouble you to open the window, for chloroform vapour does not help
the palate. (LAST)
It would brighten my declining years to see a German cruiser navigating the
Solent according to the minefield plans which I have furnished. (LAST)
Here is the fruit of my leisured ease, the magnum opus of my latter years!
(LAST)
Though unmusical, German is the most expressive of all languages. (LAST)
The Englishman is a patient creature, but at present his temper is a little
inflamed and it would be as well not to try him too far. (LAST)
I have a check for five hundred pounds which should be cashed early, for the
drawer is quite capable of stopping it, if he can. (LAST)
The faculties become refined when you starve them. Why, surely, as a doctor,
my dear Watson, you must admit that what your digestion gains in the way of
blood supply is so much lost to the brain. I am a brain, Watson. The rest of
me is a mere appendix. Therefore, it is the brain I must consider. (MAZA)
We can make the world a better place by laying them by the heels. (MAZA)
But that is not what I am out for. It's the stone I want. (MAZA)
You live in a different world to me, Mr. Overton - a sweeter and healthier
one. My ramifications stretch out into many sections of society, but never,
I am happy to say, into amateur sport, which is the best and soundest thing
in England. (MISS)
There is so much red tape in these matters. (MISS)
They have the crown down at Hurlstone - though they had some legal bother
and a considerable sum to pay before they were allowed to retain it. I am
sure that if you mentioned my name they would be happy to show it to you.
(MUSG)
Out of my last fifty-three cases, my name has only appeared in four, and the
police have had all the credit in forty-nine. (NAVA)
He's a fine fellow. But he has a struggle to keep up his position. He is far
from rich, and has many calls. You noticed, of course, that his boots had
been re-soled. (NAVA)
Mrs. Hudson has risen to the occasion. Her cuisine is a little limited, but
she has as good an idea of breakfast as a Scotchwoman. (NAVA)
Watson here will tell you that I never can resist a touch of the dramatic.
(NAVA)
I have a peculiar taste in these matters. (NAVA)
This looks like one of those unwelcome social summonses which call upon a
man either to be bored or to lie. (NOBL)
My correspondence has certainly the charm of variety, and the humbler are
usually the more interesting. (NOBL)
I assure you, Watson, without affectation, that the status of my client is a
matter of less moment to me than the interest of his case. (NOBL)
Do not dream of going, Watson, for I very much prefer having a witness, if
only as a check to my own memory. (NOBL)
American slang is very expressive sometimes. (NOBL)
Have a cigarette, Mr. McFarlane. Beyond obvious facts that you are an
asthmatic, I know nothing whatever about you. (NORW)
There is no prospect of danger, or I should not dream of stirring out
without you. (NORW)
All my instincts are one way, and all the facts are the other, and I much
fear that British juries have not yet attained that pitch of intelligience
when they will give the preference to my theories over Lestrade's facts.
(NORW)
I am familiar with forty-two different impressions left by tires. (PRIO)
This case deserves to be a classic. (PRIO)
It is the second most interesting object that I have seen in the North.
(PRIO)
Dear me! What a chorus of groans, cries and bleatings! What a rag-bag of
singular happenings! . . . Bleat, Watson, unmitigated bleat! (REDC)
It is art for art's sake (REDC), (RETI)
I observe that there is a good deal of German music on the program, which is
rather more to my taste than Italian or French. It is introspective and I
want to introspect. (REDH)
He is in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring I am
not sure that he has not a claim to be third. (REDH)
We are spies in an enemy's country. (REDH)
I hardly looked at his face. His knees were what I wished to see. (REDH)
My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of
existence. (REDH)
I am afraid that my explanation may disillusion you, but it has always been
my habit to hide none of my methods, either from my friend Watson of from
anyone who might take an intelligent interest in them. (REIG)
The fates are against you, Watson. (REIG)
Watson, I think our quiet rest in the country has been a distinct success
and I shall certainly return, much invigorated, to Baker Street to-morrow.
(REIG)
These are much deeper waters than I had thought. (REIG)
The features are given to man as the means by which he shall express his
emotions, and yours are faithful servants. (RESI)
Cut out the poetry, Watson. (RETI)
Things must be done decently and in order. (RETI)
Ambereley excelled at chess - one mark, Watson, of a scheming mind. (RETI)
He felt so clever and so sure of himself that he imagined no one could touch
him. He could say to any suspicious neighbor, "Look at the steps I have
taken. I have consulted not only the police, but even Sherlock Holmes."
(RETI)
There's money in this case, Watson, if there is nothing else. (SCAN)
You are two of the most busy men in the country and in my own small way I
have also a good many calls upon me. I regret exceedingly that I cannot help
you in this matter, and any continuation of this interview would be a waste
of time. (SECO)
If it's on the market I'll buy it - If it means another penny on the
income-tax. (SECO)
Only one important thing has happened in the last three days, and that is
that nothing has happened. (SECO)
Come, friend Watson, the curtain rings up for the last act. (SECO)
We also have our diplomatic secrets. (SECO)
You do occasionally find a carrion crow among the eagles. (SHOS)
Nothing clears up a case so much as stating it to another person. (SILV)
See the value of imagination. It is the one quality which Gregory lacks.
(SILV)
The Press, Watson, is a most valuable institution, if you know how to use
it. (SIXN)
It was a straight left against a slogging ruffian. I emerged as you see me.
Mr. Woodley went home in a cart. (SOLI)
Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up. (SPEC)
As to reward, my profession is its reward; but you are at liberty to defray
whatever expenses I may be put to, at the time which suits you best. (SPEC)
These are very deep waters. (SPEC)
An Eley's No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel
pokers into knots. (SPEC)
It's a wicked world, and when a clever man turns his brain to crime it is
the worst of all. (SPEC)
In this way I am no doubt responsible indirectly for Dr. Grimesby Roylott's
death, and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my
conscience. (SPEC)
Results without causes are much more impressive. (SPEC)
I've found it. I've found it. I have found a re-agent which is precipitated
by hemoglobin, and by nothing else. (STUD)
How are you? You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive. (STUD)
I have to be careful, for I dabble with poisons a good deal.
I have my eye on a suite in Baker Street. (STUD)
The theories which I have expressed, and which appear to you to be so
chimerical, are really extremely practical - so practical that I depend upon
them for my bread and cheese. (STUD)
I suppose I am the only one in the world. I'm a consulting detective, if you
can understand what that is. (STUD)
I listen to their story, they listen to my comments, and then I pocket my
fee.(STUD)
It was easier to know it than to explain why I know it. If you were asked to
prove that two and two made four, you might find some difficulty, and yet
you are quite sure of the fact.(STUD)
Gregson is the smartest of the Scotland Yarders. He and Lestrade are the
pick of a bad lot.(STUD)
Supposing I unravel the whole matter, you may be sure that Gregson, Lestrade
and Co. will pocket all the credit. That comes of being an unofficial
personage. (STUD)
They say that genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains. It's a very
bad definition, but it does apply to detective work. (STUD)
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. (STUD)
There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colorless skein of
e life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch
of it. (STUD)
What's that little thing of Chopin's she plays so magnificently?
Tra-la-la-lira-lira-lay. (STUD)
The mere sight of an official-looking person seals men's lips. These
youngsters however, go everywhere and hear everything. They are as sharp as
needles too; all they want is organization. (STUD)
This Agency stands flat-footed upon the ground, and there it must remain.
(SUSS)
We must not let him think that this agency is a home for the weak-minded.
(SUSS)
It's a wicked thing to tell fibs. (3GAB)
You can't play with edged tools forever without cutting those dainty hands.
(3GAB)
Possess our souls in patience and make as little noise as possible (VALL)
Well, we can only possess our souls in patience until this excellent
inspector comes back for us. (WIST)
All my instincts tell me that she is in London, but as we have no possible
means of telling where, we can only take the obvious steps, eat our dinner,
and possess our souls in patience. (LADY)
Well, Watson, we can but possess our souls in patience and see what the hour
may bring. (3GAR)
If you had killed Watson, you would not have got out of this room alive.
(3GAR)
My professional charges are upon a fixed scale. I do not vary them, save
when I remit them altogether. (THOR)
I do not think that I am in need of booming. (THOR)
It may surprise you to know that I prefer to work anonymously, and that it
is the problem itself which attracts me. (THOR)
Some of you rich men have to be taught that all the world cannot be bribed
into condoning your offences. (THOR)
When once your point of view is changed, the very thing which was so damning
becomes a clue to the truth. (THOR)
All the cards are at present against us. (THOR)
One drawback of an active mind is that one can always conceive alternate
explanations which would make our scent a false one. (THOR)
Let us hear the suspicions. I will look after the proofs. (3STU)
It is nearly nine, and the landlady babbled of green peas at seven-thirty.
(3STU)
It is human to err, and at least no one can accuse you of being a callous
criminal. (3STU)
For once you have fallen low. Let us see in the future how high you can
rise.(3STU)
I supppose, Watson, that you imagine that I have added opium-smoking to
cocaine injections, and all the other little weaknesses on which you have
favored me with your medical views. (TWIS)
I reached this one by sitting upon five pillows and consuming an ounce of
shag. (TWIS)
Everything comes in circles - even Professor Moriarty. . . It's all been
done before, and will be again. (VALL)
Mediocrity know nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes
genius. (VALL)
Watson insists that I am the dramatist in real life. Some touch of the
artist wells up within me, and calls insistently for a well staged
performance. Surely our profession would be a drab and sordid one if we did
not sometimes set the scene so as to glorify our results. (VALL)
When water is near and a weight is missing it is not a very far-fetched
supposition that something has been sunk in the water. (VALL)
My mind is like a racing engine, tearing itself to pieces because it is not
connected up with the work for which it was built. (WIST)
Life is commonplace; the papers are sterile; audacity and romance seem to
have passed forever from the criminal world. (WIST)
There is but one step from the grotesque to the horrible. (WIST)
Pipes are occasionally of extraordinary interest. Nothing has more
individuality save, perhaps, watches and bootlaces. (YELL)
I can see that you have not slept for a night or two. That tries a man's
nerves more than work, and more even than pleasure. (YELL)
If you wish to preserves your incognito, I suggest that you cease to write
your name upon the lining of your hat, or else that you turn the crown
towards the person whom you are addressing. (YELL)
There's blackmail in it, or I am much mistaken. (YELL)
There is something very attractive about that livid face at the window.
(YELL)
Watson, if it should ever strike you that I am getting a little
over-confident in my powers, or giving less pains to a case than it
deserves, kindly whisper "Norbury" in my ear, and I shall be infinitely
obliged to you. (YELL)


Those italicized words at the top of this web page were spoken by Dr. Watson in
The Hound of the Baskervilles.

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