"They say that genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains," he remarked with a smile. "It's a very bad definition, but it does apply to detective work." ~ A Study in Scarlet
He smiled gently. "It is of the first importance," he said, "not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities. A client is to me a mere unit, a factor in a problem. The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning. I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money, and the most repellant man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor." ~ The Sign of The Four
I used rather to pride myself on being able to spot a man's trade or profession by a good look at this exterior. I had the advantage of studying under a Professor at Edinburgh who was a master of the art. ~ The Recollections of Captain Wilkie
"See the value of imagination," said Holmes. "It is the one quality which Gregory lacks. We imagined what might have happened, acted upon the supposition, and find ourselves justified." ~ Silver Blaze
"It is one of those cases where the art of the reasoner should be used rather for the sifting of details than for the acquiring of fresh evidence." ~ Silver Blaze
"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." ~ The Reigate Squire
"Man, or at least criminal man, has lost all enterprise and originality. As to my own little practice, it seems to be degenerating into an agency for recovering lost lead pencils and giving advice to young ladies from boarding-schools." ~ The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
"In solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backwards. That is a very useful accomplishment, and a very easy one, but people do not practise it much. In the every-day affairs of life it is more useful to reason forwards, and so the other comes to be neglected. There are fifty who can reason synthetically for one who can reason analytically." ~ A Study in Scarlet
"Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science, and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner. You have attempted to tinge it with romanticism, which produces much the same effect as if you worked a love-story or an elopement into the fifth proposition of Euclid." ~ The Sign of The Four
"It is always awkward doing business with an alias." ~ The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
35 The Detective Business quotes found! Use the links below to see them all.
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