WIST QuotationsApr 30

A quotation from Arthur Conan Doyle

I cannot live without brain-work. What else is there to live for? Stand at the window here. Was ever such a dreary, dismal, unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun-coloured houses. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of having powers, doctor, when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime is commonplace, existence is commonplace, and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) British writer and physician
Story (1890-02), “The Sign of the Four,” ch. 1 [Holmes], Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, Vol. 45 (US) / 1 (UK)

More about this quote: wist.info/doyle-arthur-conan/8…

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Doyle, Arthur Conan - Story (1890-02), "The Sign of the Four," ch. 1 [Holmes], Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, Vol. 45 (US) / 1 (UK) | WIST Quotations

I cannot live without brain-work. What else is there to live for? Stand at the window here. Was ever such a dreary, dismal, unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun-coloured houses. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is…

WIST Quotations
WIST QuotationsJan 22

A quotation from Arthur Conan Doyle

It was easier to know it than to explain why I know it. If you were asked to prove that two and two made four, you might find some difficulty, and yet you are quite sure of the fact.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) British writer and physician
Story (1886-04), “A Study in Scarlet,” Part 1, ch. 3 [Holmes], Beeton’s Christmas Annual, Vol. 28 (1887-11-21)

More about this quote: wist.info/doyle-arthur-conan/8…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #arthurconandoyle #sherlockholmes #sherlock #certainty #cogitation #deduction #explanation #knowledge #understanding #proof

Doyle, Arthur Conan - Story (1886-04), "A Study in Scarlet," Part 1, ch. 3 [Holmes], Beeton's Christmas Annual, Vol. 28 (1887-11-21) | WIST Quotations

It was easier to know it than to explain why I know it. If you were asked to prove that two and two made four, you might find some difficulty, and yet you are quite sure of the fact. Published in novel form 1888-07.

WIST Quotations
WIST Quotations Has Moved!Nov 25, 2025

A quotation from A. A. Milne

   “Wait a moment,” said Winnie-the-Pooh, holding up his paw.
   He sat down and thought, in the most thoughtful way he could think. Then he fitted his paw into one of the Tracks … and then he scratched his nose twice, and stood up.
   “Yes,” said Winnie-the-Pooh.
   “I see now,” said Winnie-the-Pooh.
   “I have been Foolish and Deluded,” said he, “and I am a Bear of No Brain at All.”

A. A. Milne (1882-1956) English poet and playwright [Alan Alexander Milne]
Winnie-the-Pooh, ch. 3 “Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting” (1926)

More about this quote: wist.info/milne-a-a/80463/

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Winnie-the-Pooh, ch. 3 "Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting" (1926) - Milne, A. A. | WIST Quotations

"Wait a moment," said Winnie-the-Pooh, holding up his paw. He sat down and thought, in the most thoughtful way he could think. Then he fitted his paw into one of the Tracks ... and then he scratched his nose twice, and stood up. "Yes," said Winnie-the-Pooh. "I see now," said…

WIST Quotations
WIST Quotations Has Moved!Feb 3, 2025

A quotation from Victor Hugo

To be lost in thought is not to be idle. There is visible work and invisible work. To contemplate is to toil, to think is to do.
 
[On n’est pas inoccupé parce qu’on est absorbé. Il y a le labeur visible et le labeur invisible. Contempler, c’est labourer; penser, c’est agir.]

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
Les Misérables, Part 2 “Cosette,” Book 7 “A Parenthesis,” ch. 8 (2.7.8) (1862) [tr. Donougher (2013)]

Sourcing, notes, alternate translations: wist.info/hugo-victor/74464/

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Les Misérables, Part 2 "Cosette," Book 7 "A Parenthesis," ch. 8 (2.7.8) (1862) [tr. Donougher (2013)] - Hugo, Victor | WIST Quotations

To be lost in thought is not to be idle. There is visible work and invisible work. To contemplate is to toil, to think is to do. [On n’est pas inoccupé parce qu’on est absorbé. Il y a le labeur visible et le labeur invisible. Contempler, c’est labourer; penser, c’est…

WIST Quotations
WIST Quotations moves again!Jan 7, 2025

A quotation from Barzun, Jacques:

«
This is in fact the test and use of a man’s education, that he finds pleasure in the exercise of his mind.
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/barzun-jacques/1157/

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