There are times when one is tempted to say that the great, sprawling, lethargic sin of Sloth is the oldest and greatest of the sins and the parent of all the rest.

The rule seemed to be that a great woman must either die unwed ... or find a still greater man to marry her. ... The great man, on the other hand, could marry where he liked, not being restricted to great women; indeed, it was often found sweet and commendable in him to choose a woman of no sort of greatness at all.

But to Lord Peter the world presented itself as an entertaining labyrinth of side-issues

[W]hen I see men callously and cheerfully denying women the full use of their bodies, while insisting with sobs and howls on the satisfaction of their own, I simply can't find it heroic, or kind, or anything but pretty rotten and feeble.

Placetne, magistra?" "Placet.

To foment grievance and to set men at variance is the trade by which agitators thrive and journalists make money.

She always says, my lord, that facts are like cows. If you look them in the face hard enough they generally run away.