“ The past and the present are within the field of my inquiry, but what a man may do in the future is a hard question to answer. ”
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902). copy citation
| Author | Arthur Conan Doyle |
|---|---|
| Source | The Hound of the Baskervilles |
| Topic | past future inquiry |
| Date | 1902 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2852/2852-h/2852-h.htm |
Context
“If Stapleton came into the succession, how could he explain the fact that he, the heir, had been living unannounced under another name so close to the property? How could he claim it without causing suspicion and inquiry?»
«It is a formidable difficulty, and I fear that you ask too much when you expect me to solve it. The past and the present are within the field of my inquiry, but what a man may do in the future is a hard question to answer. Mrs. Stapleton has heard her husband discuss the problem on several occasions. There were three possible courses. He might claim the property from South America, establish his identity before the British authorities there and so obtain the fortune without ever coming to England at all, or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during the short time that he need be in London; or, again, he might furnish an accomplice with the proofs and papers, putting him in as heir, and retaining a claim upon some proportion of his income.” source
«It is a formidable difficulty, and I fear that you ask too much when you expect me to solve it. The past and the present are within the field of my inquiry, but what a man may do in the future is a hard question to answer. Mrs. Stapleton has heard her husband discuss the problem on several occasions. There were three possible courses. He might claim the property from South America, establish his identity before the British authorities there and so obtain the fortune without ever coming to England at all, or he might adopt an elaborate disguise during the short time that he need be in London; or, again, he might furnish an accomplice with the proofs and papers, putting him in as heir, and retaining a claim upon some proportion of his income.” source
Meaning and analysis
