--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I remember rightly, you on one…" description: "\"“If I remember rightly, you on one occasion defined my limits in a very precise fashion.\" \"Yes,\" [Watson] answered, laughing. \"It was a singular docume..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/arthur-conan-doyle-273_holmes_if-i-remember-rightly-you-on-one-occasio_1756099.jpg" --- # If I remember rightly, you on one occasion defined my… ![“If I remember rightly, you on one occasion defined my limits in a very precise fashion." "Yes," [Watson] answered, laughing. "It was a singular document. Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I remember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards the mudstains from any region…” quote by Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/arthur-conan-doyle-273_holmes_if-i-remember-rightly-you-on-one-occasio_1756099.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/arthur-conan-doyle-273_holmes_if-i-remember-rightly-you-on-one-occasio_1756099.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/arthur-conan-doyle-273_holmes_if-i-remember-rightly-you-on-one-occasio_1756099.jpg) > ““If I remember rightly, you on one occasion defined my limits in a very precise fashion." "Yes," \[Watson\] answered, laughing. "It was a singular document. Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I remember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards the mudstains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime records unique, violin player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and self-poisoner by cocaine and tobacco. Those, I think, were the main points of my analysis.”” [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character lists numerous eccentric traits, showing a complex, contradictory personality. **In simple terms:** He is defined by many odd skills and habits. Key Takeaway Embrace your quirks. Themes identity complexity eccentricity Mood intriguing analytical Type character study literary When to use this quote - self-improvement - career planning - personal branding - creative writing Key Concepts multidisciplinary knowledge self-analysis contradiction Questions to Reflect On - Which traits truly define you? - How do contradictions shape your self‑image? A Different Perspective Too many details can obscure core strengths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defined Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined-limits-1648862/) [Document Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/document-philosophy-1648863/) [Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holmes/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Limits Precise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits-precise-1648864/) [Watson Answered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watson-answered-1648865/) ## Related quotes > [We are not defined by our limits, but by our potential,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/we-are-not-defined-by-our-limits-but-by-our-potential/) [Cathy McMorris Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/) > [Every stage of human life, except the last, is marked out by certain and defined limits; old age alone has no precise and determinate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/every-stage-of-human-life-except-the-last-is-marked-out-by-certain/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“Count Sylvius, "We give you best, Holmes. I believe you are the devil himself." "Not far from him, at any rate," Holmes answered witha…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/count-sylvius-we-give-you-best-holmes-i-believe-you-are-the-devil/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/to-sherlock-holmes-she-is-always-the-woman-i-have-seldom-heard-him-4/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“On glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which I have during the last eight years studied the methods of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/on-glancing-over-my-notes-of-the-seventy-odd-cases-in-which-i-have/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [I have heard, Mr. Holmes, that you can see deeply into the manifold wickedness of the human heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/i-have-heard-mr-holmes-that-you-can-see-deeply-into-the-manifold/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [...Holmes, who loathed every form of society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in Baker Street, buried among his old books,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/holmes-who-loathed-every-form-of-society-with-his-whole-bohemian-soul/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [You have done all the work in this business. I get a wife out of it, Jones gets the credit, pray what remains for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/you-have-done-all-the-work-in-this-business-i-get-a-wife-out-of-it/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Oh how I've missed you, Holmes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/oh-how-i-ve-missed-you-holmes/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [No: I am not tired. I have a curious constitution. I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely." ~ Sherlock Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/no-i-am-not-tired-i-have-a-curious-constitution-i-never-remember/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“A large and comfortable double-bedded room had been placed at our disposal, and I was quickly between the sheets, for I was weary after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/a-large-and-comfortable-double-bedded-room-had-been-placed-at-our/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“No mention of that local hunt, Watson," said Holmes with a mischievous smile, "but a country doctor, as you very astutely observed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/no-mention-of-that-local-hunt-watson-said-holmes-with-a-mischievous/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [ \[Sherlock Holmes:\] The temptation to form premature theories upon insufficient data is the bane of our profession. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/sherlock-holmes-the-temptation-to-form-premature-theories-upon/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/to-sherlock-holmes-she-is-always-the-woman-i-have-seldom-heard-him-3/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/to-sherlock-holmes-she-is-always-the-woman-i-have-seldom-heard-him/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## More by Arthur Conan Doyle > [“shattered the bone and grazed the subclavian artery. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/shattered-the-bone-and-grazed-the-subclavian-artery-i/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“A study in scarlet, eh? Why shouldn't we use a little art jargon. There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/a-study-in-scarlet-eh-why-shouldn-t-we-use-a-little-art-jargon-there/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Holy men? Holy cabbages! Holy bean-pods! What do they do but live and suck in sustenance and grow fat? If that be holiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/holy-men-holy-cabbages-holy-bean-pods-what-do-they-do-but-live-and/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Wonderful!" I ejaculated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/wonderful-i-ejaculated/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Amberley excelled at chess - a mark, Watson, of a scheming mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/amberley-excelled-at-chess-a-mark-watson-of-a-scheming-mind/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Ex-Professor Moriarty of mathematical celebrity... is the Napoleon of crime, Watson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/ex-professor-moriarty-of-mathematical-celebrity-is-the-napoleon-of/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“When a doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/when-a-doctor-does-go-wrong-he-is-the-first-of-criminals-he-has-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of Nature!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/how-small-we-feel-with-our-petty-ambitions-and-strivings-in-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [You wish to put me in the dark. I tell you that I will never be put in the dark. You wish to beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/you-wish-to-put-me-in-the-dark-i-tell-you-that-i-will-never-be-put-in/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-he-said-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“It is hard luck on a young fellow to have expensive tastes, great expectations, aristocratic connections but no actual money in his pocket, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-is-hard-luck-on-a-young-fellow-to-have-expensive-tastes-great/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/in-the-year-1878-i-took-my-degree-of-doctor-of-medicine-of-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) [Explore all 740 Arthur Conan Doyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## More Holmes quotes > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“military historian Richard Holmes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-wright/military-historian-richard-holmes/) [Clare Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-wright/) > [I am seeing all the guys, like Earnie Shavers, Tex Cobb, and Larry Holmes all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/i-am-seeing-all-the-guys-like-earnie-shavers-tex-cobb-and-larry/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [He had the attitude that he could do anything, and therefore so can you. He put his life in my hands. So that made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-had-the-attitude-that-he-could-do-anything-and-therefore-so-can/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/to-sherlock-holmes-she-is-always-the-woman-i-have-seldom-heard-him/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [In 'A Boy's Own Story' and 'Jack Holmes and His Friend,' my idea was to take someone totally different from my real self and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/in-a-boy-s-own-story-and-jack-holmes-and-his-friend-my-idea-was-to/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [I lost three times in my career. Losing to Holmes I could deal with, because I lost to a true champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/i-lost-three-times-in-my-career-losing-to-holmes-i-could-deal-with/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [I loved Sherlock Holmes as a kid, but I remember being disappointed when he'd come up with these simple explanations for these complex mysteries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-weir/i-loved-sherlock-holmes-as-a-kid-but-i-remember-being-disappointed/) [Peter Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-weir/) > [Why would you envy a man who doesn't know the names of all the planets, is a 'high functioning' sociopath, and has no friends?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-hill/why-would-you-envy-a-man-who-doesn-t-know-the-names-of-all-the/) [Kyle Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-hill/) > [The provocation with Holmes is the fact that he's described by Doyle as a man without a heart - all brain... and that's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-brett/the-provocation-with-holmes-is-the-fact-that-he-s-described-by-doyle/) [Jeremy Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-brett/) > [“Holmes was charming and gracious, but something about him made Belknap uneasy. He could not have defined it. Indeed, for the next several decades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/holmes-was-charming-and-gracious-but-something-about-him-made-belknap/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Johannes Cabal would kill me for saying this, but he's my favorite Zeppelin-hopping detective. The fellow has got all the charm of Bond and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/johannes-cabal-would-kill-me-for-saying-this-but-he-s-my-favorite/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [you can give it a long name if you like, but I'm an old-fashioned woman and I call it mother-wit, and it's so rare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/you-can-give-it-a-long-name-if-you-like-but-i-m-an-old-fashioned/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/to-sherlock-holmes-she-is-always-the-woman-i-have-seldom-heard-him-3/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) [Browse all 273 Holmes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holmes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If I remember rightly, you on one occasion defined my limits in a very precise fashion.\" \"Yes,\" [Watson] answered, laughing. \"It was a singular document. Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I remember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards the mudstains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime records unique, violin player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and self-poisoner by cocaine and tobacco. 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