"If someone is a big and important personality, then you have to spare him from minor annoyances. If a fly repeatedly lands on your forehead and you go crazy from being tickled... what do you do? He tries to swatt the fly. He is important, not the fly. He kills the fly: his annoyance is over. He considers his actions reasonable and justified. Another reason to kill the fly is if you happen to be passionate about cleanliness. The fly can spread infection, it is dangerous to society, the fly must be destroyed! The mind of a deranged criminal works in the same way.
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Author
Agatha ChristieAll Translations
All Translations
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If someone is a big and important personality, then you have to spare him from minor annoyances. If a fly repeatedly lands on your forehead and you go crazy from being tickled... what do you do? He tries to swatt the fly. He is important, not the fly. He kills the fly: his annoyance is over. He considers his actions reasonable and justified. Another reason to kill the fly is if you happen to be passionate about cleanliness. The fly can spread infection, it is dangerous to society, the fly must be destroyed! The mind of a deranged criminal works in the same way.
""Ha eléggé nagy és fontos személyiség valaki, akkor meg kell kímélni az apró bosszúságoktól. Ha ismételten a homlokára száll egy légy, és majd` megbolondul a csiklandozásától... mit csinál? Megpróbálja agyoncsapni a legyet. Ő a fontos, nem a légy. Megöli a legyet: vége a bosszúságának. Tettét ésszerűnek és jogosnak tartja. Egy másik ok, amiért megöli a legyet, ha történetesen szenvedélyesen híve a tisztaságnak. A légy ragályt terjeszthet, veszélyes a társadalomra, a légynek pusztulnia kell! Ugyanígy működik a tébolyult bűnöző elméje."