Minerva Quotes

• The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Religious, Jesus, Atheist

  Thomas Jefferson (1984). “Jefferson: Writings”, p.1970, Library of America

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• The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk.

  Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

  Fall, Philosophical, Wings

  Philosophy of Right (1821)

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• For an actress to be a success, she must have the face of Venus, the brains of a Minerva, the grace of Terpsichore, the memory of a Macaulay, the figure of Juno, and the hide of a rhinoceros.

  Ella Wheeler Wilcox

  Funny, Success, Art

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• Is it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?" "Yes." "You called her a liar?" "Yes." "You told her He Who Must Not Be Named is back?" "Yes." "Have a biscuit, Potter.

  J. K. Rowling

  Liars, Potters, Biscuits

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• Harry witnessed Professor McGonagall walking right past Peeves who was determinedly loosening a crystal chandelier and could have sworn he heard her tell the poltergeist out of the corner of her mouth 'It unscrews the other way.

  J. K. Rowling

  Past, Funny Harry Potter, Way

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• Minerva save us from the cloying syrup of coercive compassion!

  Camille Paglia

  Kindness, Compassion, Syrup

  Camille Paglia (2011). “Sex, Art, and American Culture: Essays”, p.84, Vintage

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• O you virtuous owle,
  The wise Minerva's only fowle.

  Philip Sidney

  Wise, Virtuous

  Sir Philip Sidney (1873). “The Complete Poems of Sir Philip Sidney ...”, p.177

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• Humor is the offspring of man; it comes forth like Minerva, fully armed from the brain.

  Roger L'Estrange

  Men, Brain, Wit

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• I liked that Larry King didn't know who Minerva was.

  Maria Shriver

  Kings, Knows, Larry

  Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

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• As Hegel put it, only when it is dark does the owl of Minerva begin its flight. Only in extinction is the collector comprehend.

  Walter Benjamin

  Dark, Owl, Doe

  Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt (1968). “Illuminations”, Schocken Books Incorporated

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• Little do the devout worshippers of the Vatican suspect, when they lift up their eyes in mute adoration upon the head of their God on Earth, the Pope, that what they admire, is after all, but the caricatured head-dress, the Amazon-like helmet of Pallas Athene, the heathen goddess Minerva! In fact, there is scarcely a rite or ceremony of the christian Church that does not descend from Occultism.

  H. P. Blavatsky

  Christian, Eye, Religion

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• A woman may possess the wisdom and chastity of Minerva, and we give no heed to her, if she has a plain face. What folly will not a pair of bright eyes make pardonable? What dullness may not red lips are sweet accents render pleasant? And so, with their usual sense of justice, ladies argue that because a woman is handsome, therefore she is a fool. O ladies, ladies! there are some of you who are neither handsome nor wise.

  William Makepeace Thackeray

  Wise, Sweet, Eye

  William Makepeace Thackeray (2017). “Vanity Fair”, p.321, Pan Macmillan

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• He was too good to be
  Where ill men were, and was the best of all
  Amongst the rar'st of good ones- sitting sadly
  Hearing us praise our loves of Italy
  For beauty that made barren the swell'd boast
  Of him that best could speak; for feature, laming
  The shrine of Venus or straight-pight Minerva,
  Postures beyond brief nature; for condition,
  A shop of all the qualities that man
  Loves woman for; besides that hook of wiving,
  Fairness which strikes the eye-
  CYMBELINE.

  William Shakespeare

  Eye, Men, Quality

  William Shakespeare (1824). “The Dramatic Works of Shakspeare”, p.678

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• Investing in women, helping women to achieve their dreams, sending young girls to college. Trying to train young girls to be leaders. Sponsoring the Minerva Awards. All of these programs didn't exist before that help women day in and day out.

  Maria Shriver

  Girl, Dream, College

  Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

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• He had to feel those lips on him again. Had. To. This wasn’t a mild expression of preference. This was an imperative. His body was insistent. To continue his existence on this earth, he now needed the following: food, water, shelter, clothing, and Minerva Highwood’s lips.

  Tessa Dare

  Expression, Water, Body

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• Understanding is always in some sense retrospective, which is what Hegel meant by remarking that the owl of Minerva flies only at night.

  Terry Eagleton

  Night, Understanding, Owl

  Terry Eagleton (2008). “Literary Theory: An Introduction”, p.190, U of Minnesota Press

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• We are used to discounting the river-gods and dryads of the Greeks as poetical fancies, and even the chief figures in the classical Pantheon-Venus, Minerva, Mars, and the rest-as allegories. But, forgetting that they once carried as much sanctity as our saints and divinities, we refrain from applying the same reasoning to our own objects of worship.

  Julian Huxley

  God, Religious, Rivers

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• Minerva save us from the cloying syrup of coercive compassion! What feminism does not need, it seems to me, is an endless recycling of Doris Day Fifties clichés about noble womanhood.

  Camille Paglia

  Compassion, Feminism, Doe

  Camille Paglia (2011). “Sex, Art, and American Culture: Essays”, p.84, Vintage

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• I don't go for the so-called "intimate" stuff. Column items that report: "Minerva Ferncroft sleeps in pink dusting powder between puce-colored sheets in a heart-shaped bed." It leaves me cold.

  Paul Newman

  Sleep, Heart, Stuff

  Source: bitesizecliftbar.tumblr.com

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• Jesus. Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Delilah, Jezebel, Salome, Judith, Eve. Trouble, every last one. Add Minerva Highwood to the list.

  Tessa Dare

  Jesus, Add, Jezebel

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• Holly frowned at her. "Glad to see you've forgiven yourself so quickly." "Harboring feelings of guilt can have a negative affect on mental health." "Child geniuses," growled Holly. "Genii," said Minerva.

  Eoin Colfer

  Children, Hollies, Feelings

  Eoin Colfer (2008). “Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony”, Miramax

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• Severus, please fetch me the strongest truth potion you posess, then go down to the kitchen and bring up the house elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrids house where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here.

  J. K. Rowling

  Dog, Office, House

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• The words burned on her tongue, but Minerva couldn’t give them voice. What a hopeless coward she was. She could pound on his door at midnight and demand to be respected as an individual. She could travel across the country in hopes of being appreciated for her scholarly achievements. But she still lacked the courage to ask for the one thing she wanted most. To be loved, just for herself.

  Tessa Dare

  Country, Doors, Voice

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• How do you know it won't be duels at dawn when you tell him you've accepted my proposal of marriage?" "Don't be ridiculous. He's not that hotheaded. Though I daresay he may try to...er...knock some sense into you. He and Jarret. And possibly Gabe." "Our bargain is looking better and better all the time," he said drily. "I get to fight the Sharpe men while you stand around pretending to care." He came close enough to whisper, "I will definitely require a few kisses of you if that comes to pass, minx." -Giles and Minerva

  Sabrina Jeffries

  Fighting, Kissing, Men

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• Before I found Minerva, I'd passed nights with more than my share of women." Thorne groaned. Don't. Just don't. "I've passed time with duchesses and farm girls, and it doesn't matter whether their skirts are silk or homespun. Once you get them bare--" Thorne drew up short. "If you start in on rivers of silk and alabaster orbs, I will have to hit you.

  Tessa Dare

  Girl, Night, Rivers

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