228 Quotes by Rex Stout

I cannot agree that mountain climbing is merely one manifestation of man’s spiritual aspirations. I think instead it is a hysterical paroxysm of his infantile vanity.

I don’t approve of open fires. You can’t think, or talk or even make love in front of a fireplace. All you can do is stare at it.

To read of a detective’s daring finesse or ingenious stratagem is a rare joy.

If I’m home with no chore at hand, and a package of books has come, the television set and the chess board and the unanswered mail will have to manage without me if one of the books is a detective story.

The trouble with an alarm clock is that what seems sensible when you set it seems absurd when it goes off.

Bosh. I find a rival – but no, I won’t flatter myself that Tecumseh Fox would consider himself a rival of Dol Bonner – I find an eminent detective in your apartment, and that alone is enough, without adding that he is concealed in your bedroom while I am discussing my business with you...

Saul Panzer stood facing the cast, not the audience. There is nothing impressive about Saul. He is undersized, his nose and ears are too big, and his shoulders slant. With Saul a thousand wrongdoers had made the mistake of believing what they saw. He spoke. “I believe this is the way it was Thursday evening when Mr. Wolfe entered. Does anyone disagree?

I have a strong moral sense – by my standards.

Archie.” He was gruff. “No man can hold himself accountable for the results of his psychological defects, especially those he shares with all his fellow men, such as lack of omniscience. It is a vulgar fallacy that what you don’t know can’t hurt you; but it is true that what you don’t know can’t convict you.