We are the people our parents warned us about.
—Jimmy Buffett (b.1946) American Musician, Author
Singularity is almost invariably a clue. The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult is it to bring it home.
—Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) Scottish Writer
Almost all crime is due to the repressed desire for aesthetic expression.
—Evelyn Waugh (1903–66) British Novelist, Essayist, Biographer
Crime generally punishes itself.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil’s pet baits.
—Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) Scottish Writer
Gamesters and highwaymen are generally very good to their whores, but they are very devils to their wives.
—John Gay (1685–1732) English Poet, Dramatist
Crime is a fact of the human species, a fact of that species alone, but it is above all the secret aspect, impenetrable and hidden. Crime hides, and by far the most terrifying things are those which elude us.
—Georges Bataille (1897–1962) French Essayist, Intellectual
A first impulse was never a crime.
—Pierre Corneille (1606–84) French Poet, Dramatist
Indeed, history is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
The greatest crimes are caused by surfeit, not by want.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Like art and politics, gangsterism is a very important avenue of assimilation into society.
—E. L. Doctorow (b.1931) American Writer, Editor, Academic
Crime seems to change character when it crosses a bridge or a tunnel. In the city, crime is taken as emblematic of class and race. In the suburbs, though, it’s intimate and psychological — resistant to generalization, a mystery of the individual soul.
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b.1941) American Social Critic, Essayist
He threatens many that hath injured one.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
Crimes, like virtues, are their own rewards.
—George Farquhar (1677–1707) Irish Dramatist
The world of crime is a last refuge of the authentic, uncorrupted, spontaneous event.
—Daniel J. Boorstin (1914–2004) American Historian, Academic, Attorney, Writer
A thief believes everybody steals.
—E. W. Howe (1853–1937) American Novelist, Editor
Before a thunderstorm there is a build-up of tension which is only relieved by the explosive force of thunder and lightning. In human affairs there must be a clear distinction between the penalties for small and great crimes. Retribution for wrongdoing must be swiftly and surely applied if greater problems are to be prevented.
—I Ching Ancient Chinese Divination Text
Crime is terribly revealing. Try and vary your methods as you will, your tastes, your habits, your attitude of mind, and your soul is revealed by your actions.
—Agatha Christie (1890–1976) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
Heaven will permit no man to secure happiness by crime.
—Vittorio Alfieri (1749–1803) Italian Poet, Dramatist
Small crimes always precede great ones. Never have we seen timid innocence pass suddenly to extreme licentiousness.
—Jean Racine (1639–1699) French Dramatist
In the old days villains had moustaches and kicked the dog. Audiences are smarter today. They don’t want their villain to be thrown at them with green limelight on his face. They want an ordinary human being with failings.
—Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) British-born American Film Director, Film Producer
The contagion of crime is like that of the plague. — Criminals collected together corrupt each other. — They are worse than ever when, at the termination of their punishment, they return to society.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
When it comes to the point, really bad men are just as rare as really good ones.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
If you share your friend’s crime, you make it your own.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
Growing old is like being increasingly penalized for a crime you haven’t committed.
—Anthony Powell (1905–2000) English Novelist, Memoirist