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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

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
Situation
Reasonably
Lying
Convincing
Point
Reached
Men
Useful
Difficulty
Critical
Crisis
Lies

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The opportunity to lecture had restored my good humor.
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Nefret had always had an uncanny ability to read his thoughts. 'Did she cry?' she asked sweetly. 'And then you kissed her? You shouldn't have done that. I'm sure you meant well, but kissing someone out of pity is always a mistake.
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You are softening toward the young rascal because he is ill, and because he says he likes cats. It is an engaging quality, Emerson. That depends, said Emerson darkly, on how he likes them.
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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.)
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Many persons lead lives of crushing boredom.
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Getting an idea for a book is not the problem, but you need 300 ideas - an idea a page.
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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).
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Loving someone condemns you to a lifetime of fear. You become painfully conscious of how fragile people are - bundles of brittle bones and vulnerable flesh, breeding grounds for billions of deadly germs and horrible diseases.
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A fondness for martyrdom, especially of the verbal variety, is common to the young.
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Spring is always cruel, with its false promise of resurrection.
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If you take a man by surprise, and behave with sufficient arrogance, he will generally do what you ask. -Emerson
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If someone lies down and invites you to trample upon him, you are a remarkable individual if you decline the invitation.
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The only people who are not in awe of Emerson's powerful voice and well-nigh superhuman strength are the members of his own family. He is aware of this, and often complains about it so from time to time I like to put on a little show of being intimidated. 'Proceed, my dear,' I said apologetically.
Barbara Mertz
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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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I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be the respected patriarch of an ordinary English family. Very boring, Emerson.
Barbara Mertz
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I can do a book in three months if I spend all day, seven days a week at it and, in fact, I work better that way.
Barbara Mertz
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I knew the answer, and--of course--so did Ramses. He has superb breath control and always gets in ahead of me.
Barbara Mertz
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The approval of a cat cannot but flatter the recipient.
Barbara Mertz
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I disapprove of matrimony as a matter of principle.... Why should any independent, intelligent female choose to subject herself to the whims and tyrannies of a husband? I assure you, I have yet to meet a man as sensible as myself! (Amelia Peabody)
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Cats always pick the laps of the people who don't like them.
Barbara Mertz