Agatha Christie

“That, of course, depends entirely on who you mean by 'they'. It's a very vague term. Who is or are 'they'? Is there such a thing, are there such persons as 'they'? We don't know. But I can tell you this. If the most popular explanation of 'they' is accepted, then these people work in very close, self-contained cells. They do that for their own security.~Jessop”

“Most successes are unhappy. That's why they are successes - they have to reassure themselves about themselves by achieving something that the world will notice.”

“Why harrow oneself by looking on the worst side?... Because it is sometimes necessary.”

“You do think you know about everything," said her husband. I do," said Tuppence.”

“I have no pity for myself either. So let it be Veronal. But I wish Hercule Poirot had never retired from work and come here to grow vegetable marrows.”

“Ah, but you must have a Christmas uncomplicated by murder.”

“I did not deceive you, mon ami. At most, I permitted you to deceive yourself.”

“No one human being knows the full truth about another human being. Not even one's nearest and dearest.”

“Where large sums of money are concerned, it is advisable to trust nobody.”

“Young men are sadly degenerate nowadays.”

“Everything is possible, isn't it? The world soon teaches one that!”

“Murder can sometimes seem justified, but it is murder all the same. You are truthful and clear-minded--face the truth, mademoiselle! Your friend died in the last resort, because she had not the courage to live. We may sympathize with her. We may pity her. But the fact remains--the act was hers--not another.”

“Youth is a failing only tooeasily outgrown.”

“Speech is the deadliest of revealers.' - Hercule Poirot, Cards on the Table”

“We are ready to despair too soon, we are ready to say, ‘What’s the good of doing anything?’ Hope is the virtue we should cultivate most in this present day and age.”

“I don't think necessity is the mother of invention. Invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness - to save oneself trouble.”

“Use that fluff of yours you call a brain.”

“Where do one's fears come from? Where do they shape themselves? Where do they hide before coming out into the open?”

“Poirot, watching him, felt suddenly a doubt--an uncomfortable twinge. Was there, here, something that he had missed? Some richness of the spirit? Sadness crept over him. Yes, he should have become acquainted with the classics. Long ago. Now, alas, it was too late....”

“A man in drink can be like a ravening wolf.”