30 Sherlock Holmes Quotes About Mystery

By Dr. Nikki Martinez | Published July 1, 2022

These Sherlock Holmes quotes are perfect for mystery fans, and we would love to hear what you thought about them in the comment section below.

Now, I am not going to lie: I believe in Sherlock.

I am Sherlocked.

I know the game is afoot.

Now that I have that out of the way, I thought I would share with you some quotes by one of my favorite all-time characters, as they are so true and so blunt.

Part of Sherlock’s lack of human connection, genius, and lack of concern for feelings and relationships is that he gets to the heart of the matter and speaks the truth in ways that others would not dare.

Let me share with you some of my favorite thoughts from the man of mystery over the years.

The Wit and Wisdom of Sherlock Holmes

1. “I never guess. It is a shocking habit,—destructive to the logical faculty.” – Sherlock Holmes

2. “Dear God, what is it like in your funny little brain? It must be so boring!” – Sherlock Holmes

3. “I’m not a psychopath, Anderson. I’m a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research.” – Sherlock Holmes

4. “Anderson, don’t talk out loud. You lower the IQ of the whole street.” – Sherlock Holmes

5. “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.” – Sherlock Holmes

6. “My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don’t know.” – Sherlock Holmes

7. “I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection.” – Sherlock Holmes

8. “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” – Sherlock Holmes

9. “You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.” – Sherlock Holmes

10. “Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.” – Sherlock Holmes

11. “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth…” – Sherlock Holmes

12. “Don’t make people into heroes, John. Heroes don’t exist and if they did, I wouldn’t be one of them.” – Sherlock Holmes

13. “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.” – Sherlock Holmes

14. “Data! Data! Data! I can’t make bricks without clay.” – Sherlock Holmes

15. “I cannot live without brain-work. What else is there to live for?” – Sherlock Holmes

More Sherlock Holmes Quotes and Sayings

16. “There is nothing new under the sun. It has all been done before.” – Sherlock Holmes

17. “I ought to know by this time that when a fact appears to be opposed to a long train of deductions, it invariably proves to be capable of bearing some other interpretation.” – Sherlock Holmes

18. “I never make exceptions. An exception disproves the rule.” – Sherlock Holmes

19. “What one man can invent another can discover.” – Sherlock Holmes

20. “The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning.” – Sherlock Holmes

21. “I think that there are certain crimes which the law cannot touch, and which therefore, to some extent, justify private revenge.” – Sherlock Holmes

22. “Having gathered these facts, Watson, I smoked several pipes over them, trying to separate those which were crucial from others which were merely incidental.” – Sherlock Holmes

23. “My mind is like a racing engine, tearing itself to pieces because it is not connected up with the work for which it was built.” – Sherlock Holmes

24. “My mind 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 them 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.” – Sherlock Holmes

25. “When a doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge.” – Sherlock Holmes

26. “Nothing clears up a case so much as stating it to another person.” – Sherlock Holmes

27. “I think that you know me well enough, Watson, to understand that I am by no means a nervous man. At the same time, it is stupidity rather than courage to refuse to recognize danger when it is close upon you.” – Sherlock Holmes

28. “I confess that I have been blind as a mole, but it is better to learn wisdom late than never to learn it at all.” – Sherlock Holmes

29. “A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library where he can get it if he wants.” – Sherlock Holmes

30. “I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out or, at best, is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands on it.

Now, the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these, he has a large assortment and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent.

Depend upon it—there comes a time when, for every addition of knowledge, you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.” – Sherlock Holmes