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But the dust! And the clutter! My housewifely and scholarly instincts were equally offended.

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
Instinct
Scholarly
Clutter
Instincts
Offended
Equally
Dust

More quotes by Barbara Mertz

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Many persons lead lives of crushing boredom.
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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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Humor is an excellent method of keeping a tight rein on unproductive displays of emotion.
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Cats always made up to the people who hated them the most. Depending on how you chose to look at it, it was a touching manifestation of trust, or a malicious pleasure in human discomfort.
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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.
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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.
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a church ought to express the joy of religion as well as its majesty.
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I do not scruple to employ mendacity and a fictitious appearance of female incompetence when the occasion demands it.
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Reputations are shaped not by facts but by prejudices.
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I would never have supposed that inexperienced girl was capable of such cold-blooded, calculating manipulation!
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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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stereotypes are awfully misleading. There are typical librarians, but not all librarians are typical.
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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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Exaggeration is the cheapest form of humor.
Barbara Mertz
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Children, I feel, are as much entitled to privacy as human beings.
Barbara Mertz
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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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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.
Barbara Mertz
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...Nefret said with a gusty sigh, 'Well, that's done it. We may as well join in, Ramses, family arguments are the favorite form of amusement here and this looks like being a loud one.
Barbara Mertz
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Giving other people advice is one of the most irritating and useless activities known to man.
Barbara Mertz
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I am so tired of ruggedly handsome heroes. I don't know too many ruggedly handsome people who are necessarily nice people. In fact, the beautiful people have a big handicap because they rely too much on their appearance and don't bother to become interesting.
Barbara Mertz