What is the meaning of it, Watson? said Holmes solemnly as he laid down the paper. "What object is served by this circle of misery and violence and fear? It must tend to some end, or else our universe is ruled by chance, which is unthinkable. But what end? There is the great standing perennial problem to which human reason is as far from an answer as ever.
Arthur Conan Doyle
Meaning, Universe, Philosophy, Human Condition, Existential Questions
Arthur Conan Doyle’s Quotes On Topics
Language | Age | Arrogance | Intellectual Ability | Action | Divine Inspiration | Patience | Risk | Philosophical Reflection | Portraits | Flattery | Body Language | Innocence | Self-worth | Character Description | Mental Stimulation | Banking | Crime Prevention | Modernity | Futility | More
More Arthur Conan Doyle Quotes
“It is the small men and not the great who hold their noses in the air.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Arrogance, Greatness, Human Nature, Social Commentary, Character Flaw
Arthur Conan Doyle Arrogance, Greatness, Human Nature, Social Commentary, Character Flaw“I think there are certain crimes which the law cannot touch, and which therefore, to some extent, justify private revenge.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Justice, Revenge, Law, Morality, Crime
Arthur Conan Doyle Justice, Revenge, Law, Morality, Crime“A wondrous subtle thing is love, for here were we two, who had never seen each other before that day, between whom no word or even look of affection had ever passed, and yet now in an hour of trouble our hands instinctively sought for each other.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Love, Instinct, Connection, Adversity, Human Nature
Arthur Conan Doyle Love, Instinct, Connection, Adversity, Human Nature“It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognize, out of a number of facts, which are incidental and which vital. Otherwise your energy and attention must be dissipated instead of being concentrated.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Detection, Focus, Prioritization, Investigation Skills, Analytical Thinking
Arthur Conan Doyle Detection, Focus, Prioritization, Investigation Skills, Analytical Thinking“You see, but you do not observe.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Observation, Perception, Awareness, Detective Skills, Attention To Detail
Arthur Conan Doyle Observation, Perception, Awareness, Detective Skills, Attention To Detail“I was expecting a rather long visit to Bankruptcy Court at the time, and this interruption seemed almost providential.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Bankruptcy, Fortune, Unexpected Events, Financial Troubles, Divine Intervention
Arthur Conan Doyle Bankruptcy, Fortune, Unexpected Events, Financial Troubles, Divine Intervention“Yes, it is an interesting instance of a throwback, which appears to be both physical and spiritual.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Heredity, Spirituality, Evolution, Human Nature, Observation
Arthur Conan Doyle Heredity, Spirituality, Evolution, Human Nature, Observation“Give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and i am in my own proper atmosphere. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created it.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Intellect, Challenge, Profession, Detective Work, Mental Stimulation
Arthur Conan Doyle Intellect, Challenge, Profession, Detective Work, Mental Stimulation“All day the wind had screamed and the rain had beaten against the windows, so that even here in the heart of great, hand-made London we were forced to raise our minds for the instant from the routine of life and to recognise the presence of those great elemental forces which shriek at mankind through the bars of his civilisation, like untamed beasts in a cage.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Nature, Civilization, Urban Life, Weather, Human Fragility
Arthur Conan Doyle Nature, Civilization, Urban Life, Weather, Human Fragility“The weak man becomes strong when he has nothing, for then only can he feel the wild, mad thrill of despair.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Despair, Strength, Adversity, Human Nature, Transformation
Arthur Conan Doyle Despair, Strength, Adversity, Human Nature, Transformation“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. High and strong the chateaux, lowly and weak the brushwood hut; but God help the seigneur and his lady when the men of the brushwood set their hands to the work of revenge! Through.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Revenge, Desperation, Oppression, Social Inequality, Class Struggle
Arthur Conan Doyle Revenge, Desperation, Oppression, Social Inequality, Class Struggle“I'm not a psychopath, I'm a fully functioning sociopath. Do your research.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Sociopathy, Self-awareness, Psychology, Humor, Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle Sociopathy, Self-awareness, Psychology, Humor, Sherlock Holmes“The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Skepticism, Rationality, Supernatural, Worldview, Pragmatism
Arthur Conan Doyle Skepticism, Rationality, Supernatural, Worldview, Pragmatism“It was a singular bedroom, with its high walls of brown volumes, but there could be no more agreeable furniture to a bookworm like myself, and there is no scent so pleasant to my nostrils as that faint, subtle reek which comes from an ancient book. I assured him that I could desire no more charming chamber, and no more congenial surroundings.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Books, Bibliophile, Reading, Comfort, Personal Taste
Arthur Conan Doyle Books, Bibliophile, Reading, Comfort, Personal Taste“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.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Investigation, Methodology, Learning, Problem-solving, Advice
Arthur Conan Doyle Investigation, Methodology, Learning, Problem-solving, Advice“Was it hardness, was it selfishness, that she should ask me to risk my life for her own glorification? Such thoughts may come to middle age; but never to ardent three-and-twenty in the fever of his first love.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Love, Youth, Risk, Selfishness, Age Difference
Arthur Conan Doyle Love, Youth, Risk, Selfishness, Age Difference“If she were seventeen at the time of her father's disappearance she must be seven-and-twenty now – a sweet age, when youth has lost its self-consciousness and become a little sobered by experience.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Age, Maturity, Experience, Youth, Personal Growth
Arthur Conan Doyle Age, Maturity, Experience, Youth, Personal Growth“A gigantic tortoise with a jewel-encrusted shell was glittering near the window.” Arthur Conan Doyle
Unusual Sight, Luxury, Exotic Pets, Wealth Display, Peculiar Objects
Arthur Conan Doyle Unusual Sight, Luxury, Exotic Pets, Wealth Display, Peculiar Objects