“It has long been a maxim of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important” (“A

Case of Identity”)

“I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my friend in those hours of intense mental concentration during which he weighed every particle of evidence, constructed alternative theories, balanced one against the other, and made up his mind as to which points were essential and which immaterial.”

“I make a point of never having any prejudices and of following docilely wherever fact may

lead me” (“The Reigate Squires”)

“A concentrated atmosphere helps a concentration of thought”

“the world is filled with obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes”

Holmes “approached the case with an absolutely blank mind, which is always an advantage”

(“The Cardboard Box”)

“You see but you do not observe” (“A Scandal in Bohemia”)

Holmes has “An extraordinary gift for minutiae” (Sign of Four)

Other Idiosyncrasies of Sherlock Holmes

• In the novel he consumes “two large pots of coffee” in a single afternoon

• He enjoyed a pipe before and after breakfast• Extremely untidy at times. In “The Musgrave Ritual,

his correspondence is “transfixed by a jackknife” to the mantelpiece.

• Dr. Watson called him “a self-poisoner” in “Five Orange Pips” because of his use of a 7% solution of cocaine, sometimes leaving his syringes on the mantelpiece

Other Idiosyncrasies of Holmes

• He is sometimes described as being “beleagured by ennui”

• He’s a late riser• He loves maps (noticeable in Hound)• He loves cryptography• He’s a bit of an elitist—he refers disparagingly

to the “peasants” of Dartmoor• He often displays incredible generosity