Once or twice in my career I feel that I have done more real harm by my discovery of the criminal than ever he had done by his crime. I have learned caution now, and I had rather play tricks with the law of England than with my own conscience.

Where there is no imagination there is no horror.

Your life is not your own. Keep your hands off it.

The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning.

It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognise out of a number of facts which are incidental and which are vital.

All other men are specialists, but his specialism is omniscience.

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. ~ Sherlock Holmes