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I would not be at all surprised to find that it was for gold that Cain committed the first murder. (It happened a very long time ago, and Holy Writ, though no doubt divinely inspired, is a trifle careless about details. God is not a historian).

Barbara Mertz

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Barbara Mertz
Age: 85 †
Born: 1927
Born: September 29
Died: 2013
Died: August 8
Archaeologist
Author
Egyptologist
Novelist
Writer
Canton
Illinois
Elizabeth Peters
Barbara Michaels
Barbara Louise Mertz
Time
Doubt
Historian
Happened
Surprised
Though
Murder
Trifle
Find
Details
Writ
Firsts
Committed
Divinely
First
Inspired
Cain
Long
Gold
Trifles
Would
Holy
Careless

More quotes by Barbara Mertz

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Is is difficult to be angry with a gentleman who pays you compliments, even impertinent compliments. Especially impertinent compliments.
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Dogs can be made to feel guilty about anything, including the sins of their owners. Cats refuse to take the blame for anything - including their own sins.
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..he continues to cling to the forlorn hope that I will turn into one of those swooning females...and fling myself squeeling at him whenever anything happens. Like all men, he clings to his illusions.
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Most men are reasonably useful in a crisis. The difficulty lies in convincing them that the situation has reached a critical point
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The combination of physical strength and moral sincerity combined with tenderness of heart is exactly what is wanted in a husband.--Ameila Peabody
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Martyrdom is often the result of excessive gullibility.
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I don't think she realized how much she cared for him, or he for her, until the end. Hasn't someone said a woman may be known by the men who love her enough to die for her? (If they haven't, I claim the credit myself.)
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A fondness for martyrdom, especially of the verbal variety, is common to the young.
Barbara Mertz
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Humor is an excellent method of keeping a tight rein on unproductive displays of emotion.
Barbara Mertz
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The approval of a cat cannot but flatter the recipient.
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Reputations are shaped not by facts but by prejudices.
Barbara Mertz
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Now, Mama, Papa, and sir, said Ramses, please withdraw to the farthest corner and crouch down with your backs turned. It is as I feared we will never break through by this method. The walls are eight feet thick. Fortunately I brought along a little nitroglycerin-- Oh, good Gad, shrieked Inspector Cuff.
Barbara Mertz
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Emerson,' I said, choosing my words with care, 'it is a sheer drop from the cleft down to the base of the cliff. If you are bent on breaking your arm or your leg or your neck or all three, find a place closer to home so we won't have to carry you such a distance.
Barbara Mertz
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I have learned that particularly clever ideas do not always stand up under close scrutiny.
Barbara Mertz
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Spring is always cruel, with its false promise of resurrection.
Barbara Mertz
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Exaggeration is the cheapest form of humor.
Barbara Mertz
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love has a very dulling effect on the brain
Barbara Mertz
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The only way to do it is to do it: by writing, writing, writing.
Barbara Mertz
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It's not unsporting to thrash a cowardly cad,' said Simmons. 'Everyone knows you don't fight like a gentleman.' 'That might be called an oxymoron,' Ramses said. 'Oh--sorry. Bad form to use long words. Look it up when you get home.' The poor devil didn't know how to fight, like a gentleman or otherwise.
Barbara Mertz
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In the silence I heard Bastet, who had retreated under the bed, carrying on a mumbling, profane monologue. (If you ask how I knew it was profane, I presume you have never owned a cat.)
Barbara Mertz