The Pale Horse

by Agatha Christie

I said that, unlike sundials, she remembered only the rainy hours.

‘I really can’t go along with this modern playing down of evil as something that doesn’t really exist. There is evil. And evil is powerful. Sometimes more powerful than good. It’s there. It has to be recognised—and fought. Otherwise—’ he spread out his hands. ‘We go down to darkness.’

‘Always envisage the worst. You’ve no idea how that steadies the nerves. You begin at once to be sure that it can’t be as bad as what you imagine.’

‘Evil is not something superhuman, it’s something less than human. Your criminal is someone who wants to be important, but who never will be important, because he’ll always be less than a man.’