Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sign of the Four Arthur Conan Doyle

"My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created it, for I am the only one in the world." "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" "No: I am not tired. I have a curious constitution. I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely." Sherlock Holmes" "The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning." "You have done all the work in this business. I get a wife out of it, Jones gets the credit, pray what remains for you?" "For me," said Sherlock Holmes, "there still remains the cocaine bottle." Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of the Four