Barbara Mertz Quotes

When emotion supersedes reason ... gullibility must follow.

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.

No woman really wants a man to carry her off; she only wants him to want to do it.

there is nothing like a garden to rest the soul.

The only way to do it is to do it: by writing, writing, writing.

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

I knew the answer, and--of course--so did Ramses. He has superb breath control and always gets in ahead of me.

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.

A man asking for help ought to at least give directions.

Cats always pick the laps of the people who don't like them.

Most men are reasonably useful in a crisis. The difficulty lies in convincing them that the situation has reached a critical point

Martyrdom is often the result of excessive gullibility.

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

People who relate what they believe to be new and startling information like to have such information received with exclamations of astonishment and admiration.

Sekhmet crawled onto Ramses's lap and began to purr. 'The creature oozes like a furry slug,' said Ramses, eyeing it without favor.

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be the respected patriarch of an ordinary English family." "Very boring, Emerson.

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.

It is much more sensible to be an optimist instead of a pessimist, for if one is doomed to disappointment, why experience it in advance?

A lady cannot be blamed if a master criminal takes a fancy to her.

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

The opportunity to lecture had restored my good humor.

The trouble with unknown enemies is that they are so difficult to identify.

When men start talking about 'honor', there is sure to be trouble ahead.

Many persons lead lives of crushing boredom.

I have no writing habit. I work when I feel like it, and I work when I have to - mostly the latter.

Superstition has its practical uses.

Spring is always cruel, with its false promise of resurrection.

There is nothing sadder than the cheerful letters of the dead, expressing hopes that were never fulfilled, ambitions that were never achieved, dreams cut off before they could come to fruition.

Getting an idea for a book is not the problem, but you need 300 ideas - an idea a page.

It is easier to counterfeit old age than youth.

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

I do, however, think it would be difficult to write books I don't like to read.

I've been reading ghost stories ever since I could read. I'm immensely curious about ghosts and UFOs and all that stuff, but I'm a very hard-headed person.

Giving other people advice is one of the most irritating and useless activities known to man.

Nothing looks as self-satisfied as a contented cat.

Children, I feel, are as much entitled to privacy as human beings.

Husbands do not care to be contradicted. Indeed, I do not know anyone who does.

To argue without knowledge is like trying to weave without thread.

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.

Reputations are shaped not by facts but by prejudices.

That's maturity-when you realize that you've finally arrived at a state of ignorance as profound as your parents.

Conventional history completely ignores half the human race.

Money was the manure of politics.

Your trousers are on fire. I would have told you, but you so dislike advice.

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.

kissing someone out of pity is always a mistake.

It was hate at first sight, clean, pure and strong as grain alcohol.

If all else fails, we will simply have to drug our attendants, overpower the guards, raise the oppressed peasants to arms, and take over the government.

A fondness for martyrdom, especially of the verbal variety, is common to the young.

The combination of physical strength and moral sincerity combined with tenderness of heart is exactly what is wanted in a husband.--Ameila Peabody