Subject: Act First
Quote: “Do things first and tell people afterward, that is your motto right enough.”
Character: Lady Astwell to M. Hercule Poirot
Chapter/Story: “The Under Dog”
Book Title/Copyright: The Underdog and Other Stories, 1923
Quote: “Do things first and tell people afterward, that is your motto right enough.”
Character: Lady Astwell to M. Hercule Poirot
Chapter/Story: “The Under Dog”
Book Title/Copyright: The Underdog and Other Stories, 1923
Subject: Acting Without Thinking
Quote: “Have you ever said suddenly to anyone, ‘Throw a stone and see if you can hit that tree,’ and the person obeys quickly without thinking—and surprisingly often he does hit the tree. But when he comes to repeat the throw it is not so easy, for he has begun to think. ‘So hard—no harder—a little more to the right—to the left.’ The first was an almost unconscious action, the body obeying the mind as the body of an animal does…. [T]here is a type of crime like that—a crime committed on the spur of the moment—an inspiration—a flash of genius—without time to pause or think.”
Character: M. Hercule Poirot
Chapter/Story: 25 – Mrs. Lorrimer Speaks
Book Title/Copyright: Cards on the Table, 1936
Subject: Action
Quote: “My client…understands only one thing—action! But it is useless to dispense energy by unnecessary action. There is a golden rule in life, Georges: never do anything yourself that others can do for you.”
Character: M. Hercule Poirot
Chapter/Story: “The Apples of the Hesperides”
Book Title/Copyright: The Labors of Hercules, 1947
