Sherlock Holmes - The greatest man ever

“You have a grand gift of silence, Watson,” said he. “It makes you quite invaluable as a companion." Surely your medical experience would tell you, Watson, that weakness in one limb is often compensated for by exceptional strength in the others.  I have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman may be more valuable than the conclusion of an analytical reasoner. 

Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. “Never mind,” said Holmes, laughing; “it is my business to know things. Perhaps I have trained myself to see what others overlook. If not, why should you come to consult me?” It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important. “Not invisible but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to look, and so you missed all that was important. ‘There is danger for him who taketh the tiger cub, and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.’ There is as much sense in Hafiz as in Horace, and as much knowledge of the world.” 

“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact,” “Well, it is not for me to judge you,” said Holmes as the old man signed the statement which had been drawn out. “I pray that we may never be exposed to such a temptation.” “God help us!” said Holmes after a long silence. “Why does fate play such tricks with poor, helpless worms? I never hear of such a case as this that I do not think of Baxter’s words, and say, ‘There, but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes.’ ” 

Now, my dear Watson, is it beyond the limits of human ingenuity to furnish an explanation which would cover both of these big facts? If it were one which would also admit of the mysterious note with its very curious phraseology, why, then it would be worth accepting as a temporary hypothesis. If the fresh facts which come to our knowledge all fit themselves into the scheme, then our hypothesis may gradually become a solution.” 

“There’s an east wind coming, Watson.” “I think not, Holmes. It is very warm.” “Good old Watson! You are the one fixed point in a changing age. There’s an east wind coming, all the same, such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast. But it’s God’s own wind none the less, and a cleaner, better, stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm has cleared. 

“I play the game for the game’s own sake,” “For England, home and beauty—eh, Watson? Martyrs on the altar of our country. But what do you think of it, Mycroft?” 

“Education never ends, Watson. It is a series of lessons with the greatest for the last.  

“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.” 

Human nature is a strange mixture, Watson. You see that even a villain and murderer can inspire such affection that his brother turns to suicide when he learns that his neck is forfeited. 

“That hurts my pride, Watson,” he said at last. “It is a petty feeling, no doubt, but it hurts my pride. It becomes a personal matter with me now, and, if God sends me health, I shall set my hand  upon this gang. That he should come to me for help, and that I should send him away to his death—!” 

As to you, sir, I trust that a bright future awaits you in Rhodesia. For once you have fallen low. Let us see in the future how high you can rise.”