I much fear that British juries have not yet attained that pitch of intelligence when they will give the preference to my theories over Lestrade's fa… - Arthur Conan Doyle

...to underestimate one’s self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one’s own powers.

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius.

He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for the observer- excellent for drawing the veil from men's motives and actions. But for the trained observer to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his.