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.

It is quite a three-pipe problem.

Ex-Professor Moriarty of mathematical celebrity... is the Napoleon of crime, Watson.

Anything seems commonplace, once explained.

You have a grand gift for silence, Watson. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion.

If I had never touched Holmes, who has tended to obscure my higher work, my position in literature would at the present moment be a more commanding one.

The love of books is among the choicest gifts of the gods.