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Noble causes have a deplorable effect on the morals of the persons who espouse them.

Barbara Mertz

Martyrdom is often the result of excessive gullibility.
BARBARA MERTZ

Martyrdom Results Sacrifice
There are too many people in the world as it is, but the supply of ancient manuscripts is severely limited.
BARBARA MERTZ

Ancient People World
Sekhmet crawled onto Ramses’s lap and began to purr. ‘The creature oozes like a furry slug,’ said Ramses, eyeing it without favor.
BARBARA MERTZ

Favors Lap Slugs
Another dead body. Every year it is the same. Every year, another dead body.
BARBARA MERTZ

Another Body Every Year Years
Most men are reasonably useful in a crisis. The difficulty lies in convincing them that the situation has reached a critical point
BARBARA MERTZ

Crisis Lying Men
Reputations are shaped not by facts but by prejudices.
BARBARA MERTZ

Facts Prejudice Reputation
It is easier to counterfeit old age than youth.
BARBARA MERTZ

Age Easier Youth
The way to get on with a cat is to treat it as an equal – or even better, as the superior it knows itself to be.
BARBARA MERTZ

Cat Treats Way
Writing is like a bird-watcher watching for birds: the stories are there: you just have to train yourself to look for them.
BARBARA MERTZ

Bird Looks Writing
Sometimes the characters develop almost without your knowing it. You find them doing things you hadn’t planned on, and then I have to go back to page 42 and fix things. I’m not recommending it as a way to write. It’s very sloppy, but it works for me.
BARBARA MERTZ

Character Knowing Writing
I do, however, think it would be difficult to write books I don’t like to read.
BARBARA MERTZ

Book Thinking Writing
No woman really wants a man to carry her off; she only wants him to want to do it.
BARBARA MERTZ

Funny Want Women
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

Book Three Way
I had refused Emerson’s well-meant offers of assistance, knowing his efforts would be confined to moving the furniture to the wrong places and demanding how much longer the process would take.
BARBARA MERTZ

Effort Knowing Moving
I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be the respected patriarch of an ordinary English family.” “Very boring, Emerson.
BARBARA MERTZ

English Ordinary Sometimes Wonder
It was hate at first sight, clean, pure and strong as grain alcohol.
BARBARA MERTZ

Hate Sight Strong
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

Bed Cat Silence
I would never have supposed that inexperienced girl was capable of such cold-blooded, calculating manipulation!
BARBARA MERTZ

Cold Girl Manipulation
It may take us a little longer to reach the summit, but never fear, we will get there!
BARBARA MERTZ

Determination Littles May
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.
BARBARA MERTZ

Cat Likes Quality
Exaggeration is the cheapest form of humor.
BARBARA MERTZ

Exaggeration Form Humor
If you take a man by surprise, and behave with sufficient arrogance, he will generally do what you ask. -Emerson
BARBARA MERTZ

Arrogance Men Surprise
Since I am not as stupid as my children believe I am, I had immediately realized this might be a ruse, but I was not at all averse to a confrontation. In fact, I had been hoping for some such thing.
BARBARA MERTZ

Believe Children Stupid
kissing someone out of pity is always a mistake.
BARBARA MERTZ

Kissing Mistake Someone
Conventional history completely ignores half the human race.
BARBARA MERTZ

Half History Race
Marriage, in my view, should be a balanced stalemate between equal adversaries.
BARBARA MERTZ

Marriage Should Views
I never meant to marry. In my opinion, a woman born in the last half of the nineteenth century of the Christian era suffered from enough disadvantages without willfully embracing another.
BARBARA MERTZ

Christian Half Lasts

Noble causes have a deplorable effect on the morals of the persons who espouse them.

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Noble causes have a deplorable effect on the morals of the persons who espouse them.

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