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Serpent Quotes

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Serpent Quotes

“Though the face of the steersman is forward, the boat drifts as it pleases. Though the king is in the palace, though the rudder is in your hand, wrong is done around you. Long is my plea, heavy my task, “What is the matter with him ?“ people ask. Be a shelter, make safe your shore, See how your quay is infested with crocodiles! Straighten your tongue, let it not stray, A serpent is this limb of man. Don’t tell lies, warn the magistrates, Greasy baskets are the judges.”

WrongSerpentHandTellJudgesWarnRudderSteersman
Book:Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
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“A likely story indeed!" said the Pigeon, in a tone of the deepest contempt. "I've seen a good many little girls in my time, but never one with such a neck as that! No, no! You're a serpent; and there's no use denying it. I suppose you'll be telling me next that you never tasted an egg!" "I have tasted eggs, certainly," said Alice, who was a very truthful child; "but little girls eat eggs quite as much as serpents do, you know." "I don't believe it," said the Pigeon; "but if they do, then they're a kind of serpent: that's all I can say.”

GirlsSerpentAlice In WonderlandAliceEat Eggs
Book:Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass
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“It is for your own good to love a dare-devil rather than a holy coward. A dare-devil is a unique devil, battling your fears, your pains, conquering your uncertainties, carrying you his arms, and flying out of the corrosive fire. The coward is a trickster serpent, which vanishes in your time of despair, and appears in time of equanimity.”

LovePainFearFireSecurityBattleSafeDespairSalvationFood For ThoughtUncertaintyFightCowardiceDreadConquerorSerpentEquanimityTrue FriendsHavenStrong BondTricksterUncertaintiesDreadfulCorrosiveDare Devil
Author:Michael Bassey Johnson
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“It has always been a mystery to me how Adam, Eve, and the serpent were taught the same language. Where did they get it? We know now, that it requires a great number of years to form a language; that it is of exceedingly slow growth. We also know that by language, man conveys to his fellows the impressions made upon him by what he sees, hears, smells and touches. We know that the language of the savage consists of a few sounds, capable of expressing only a few ideas or states of the mind, such as love, desire, fear, hatred, aversion and contempt. Many centuries are required to produce a language capable of expressing complex ideas. It does not seem to me that ideas can be manufactured by a deity and put in the brain of man. These ideas must be the result of observation and experience.”

LoveIdeasDesireLanguageFearGrowthBrainKnowledgeFantasyExpressionBibleHatredExperienceMythSensesObservationContemptSerpentAversionAdam And EveGarden Of EdenThe BibleFableImpressionsSavageDeityCenturies
Book:Some Mistakes of Moses
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“Go on, my dear," urges the snake. "Take one. Hear it? 'Pluck me,' it's saying. That big, shiny red one. 'Pluck me, pluck me now and pluck me hard.' You know you want to." "But God," quotes Eve, putting out feelers for an agent provacateur, clever girl, "expressly forbids us to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge." "Ah yessssss, God ... But God gave us life, did He not? And God gave us desire, did He not? And God gave us taste, did He not? And who else but God made the damned apples in the first place? So what else is life for but to tassste the fruit we desire?" Eve folds her arms schoolgirlishly. "God expressly forbade it. Adam said." The snake grins through his fangs, admiring Eve's playacting. "God is a nice enough chap in His way. I daresay He means well. But between you and The Tree of Knowledge, He is terribly insecure." "Insecure? He made the entire bloody universe! He's omnipotent." "Exactly! Almost neurotic, isn't it? All this worshiping, morning, noon, and night. It's 'Oh Praise Him, Oh Praise Him, Oh Praise the Everlassssting Lord.' I don't call that omnipotent. I call it pathetic. Most independent authorities agree that God has never sufficiently credited the work of virtual particles in the creation of the universssse. He raises you and Adam on this diet of myths while all the really interesting information is locked up in these juicy apples. Seven days? Give me a break.”

GodReligionKnowledgeMythSerpentAdam And EveAppleSnakeTree Of Knowledge
Book:Ghostwritten
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“Allegorical stories of saints battling with giants, monsters and demons may be interpreted as symbolizing the Christian's fight against paganism. At Bwlch Rhiwfelen (Denbigh) St Collen fought and killed a cannibal giantess, afterwards washing away the blood-stains in a well later known as Ffynnon Gollen. In Ireland, the tales of saints slaying giant serpents may have the same meaning; alternatively they (or some of them) may refer to early sightings of genuine water monsters. St Barry banished a serpent from a mountain into Lough Lagan (Roscommon), and a holy well sprang up where the saint's knee touched the ground.”

ChristianMythologyPaganMonsterSerpentFolkloreWellGiantLake Monster
Book:Sacred Waters
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“The image of the Serpent, because of its association with life, rejuvenation, fertility, and regeneration, was a symbol of immortality. The coiled Serpent with its tail in its mouth was a circle of infinitude indicating omnipotence and omniscience. The Serpent, depicted in several successive rings, represented cyclical evolution and reincarnation. In ancient philosophy or mythological systems, creation and wisdom were closely bound together, and the Serpent was a potent symbol of both. It is in this capacity that the Serpent appears in the Babylonian and Sumerian mythologies, which contain elements akin to the Genesis story. The Serpent has the power to bestow immortality but also has the power to cheat humankind. In many of the ancient Near Eastern stories—for instance, the Gilgamesh Epic and myth of Adapa—the Serpent holds out the promise of immortality but then cheats man at the last minute.”

MythologyGenesisSymbolismSerpentCreation MythsAncient PhilosophyGilgameshFeminist TheologySumerianBabylonian
Book:The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion, and Power in Celtic Ireland
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“On the throne, the remaining flowers turn the same inky black as Cardan's eyes. Then the black bleeds down his face. He turns to me, opening his mouth, but his jaw is changing. His whole body is changing- elongating and ululating. ... The monstrous thing seems to have swallowed up everything of Cardan. His mouth opens wide and then jaw-crackingly wide as long fangs sprout. Scales shroud his skin. Dread has rooted me in place. ... In the place where the High King was, there is a massive serpent, covered in black scales and curved fangs. A golden sheen runs down the coils of the enormous body. I look in to his black eyes, hoping to see recognition there, but they are cold and empty. 'It will poison the land,' cries the smith. 'No true love's kiss will stop it. No riddle will fix it. Only death.”

CurseHolly BlackThe Folk Of The AirJude DuarteCardan GreenbriarCardanSerpentThe Queen Of NothingSnakeSerpent King
Book:The Queen of Nothing
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“Yes, an actual full-sized camel. If you find that confusing, just think how the criosphinx must have felt. Where did the camel come from, you ask? I may have mentioned Walt’s collection of amulets. Two of them summoned disgusting camels. I’d met them before, so I was less than excited when a ton of dromedary flesh flew across my line of sight, plowed into the sphinx, and collapsed on top of it. The sphinx growled in outrage as it tried to free itself. The camel grunted and farted. “Hindenburg,” I said. Only one camel could possibly fart that badly. “Walt, why in the world—?” “Sorry!” he yelled. “Wrong amulet!” The technique worked, at any rate. The camel wasn’t much of a fighter, but it was quite heavy and clumsy. The criosphinx snarled and clawed at the floor, trying unsuccessfully to push the camel off; but Hindenburg just splayed his legs, made alarmed honking sounds, and let loose gas. I moved to Walt’s side and tried to get my bearings.”

FunnySunHumourDestructionRebelliousEarthquakesSurviveSerpentFunny And RandomRiotsSnakeRaTornadoSadie KaneCarter KaneFloodsRiordanTsunamisGiant Snake
Book:The Serpent's Shadow
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“Nine is the mythical number of the Germanic tribes. Documentation for the significance of the number nine is found in both myth and cult. In Odin's self-sacrifice he hung for nine nights on the windy tree (Hávamál), there are nine worlds to Nifhel (Vafprudnismal 43), Heimdallr was born to nine mothers, Freyr had to wait for nine nights for his marriage to Gerd (Skírnismál 41), and eight nights (= nine days?) was the time of betrothal given also in the Þrymskviða. Literary embellishments in the Eddas similarly used the number nine: Skaði and Njörðr lived alternately for nine days in Nóatún and in Þrymheimr; every ninth night eight equally heavy rings drip from the ring Draupnir; Menglöð has nine maidens serve her (Fjölsvinnsmál 35ff), and Ægir had as many daughters. Thor can take nine steps at Ragnarök after his battle with the Midgard serpent before he falls down dead. Sacrificial feasts lasting nine days are mentioned for both Uppsala and Lejre and at these supposedly nine victims were sacrificed each day.”

MagicRitualOfferingPaganSerpentThorOdinRagnarokHeathenryAsatru
Book:A Dictionary of Northern Mythology
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“Only hinted at in some of these tales, and clearly stated in others, it is apparent that there was a long and continuing conflict between paganism and Christianity in the early centuries A.D. This may also be the explanation behind other well creation tales, such as the slaying by St Barry of a 'great serpent' in County Roscommon. The saint thrust his crozier at it before it disappeared into Lough Lagan, and where his knee touched the ground, a holy well, Tobar Barry, sprang up. Although the serpent may represent paganism, and the saint's victory is therefore the victory of Christianity over paganism, we cannot entirely ignore the possibility that some of the serpents in similar Irish tales may have been real water monsters, which are still seen from time to time in the lakes of Ireland and Scotland. These eerie, ugly monsters, with their aura of primeval mystery, appropriately symbolize the uncouth savagery which the Christians attributed to all non-Christian beliefs; but that is not to say that the monsters were totally symbolic and did not have a reality of their own.”

ChristianityPaganSerpentLake MonsterSea SerpentWater Monster
Book:Sacred Waters
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“Insignificance by Stewart Stafford From the emerald Draco star, Fell the coiled Rosslyn figure, Unwinding into elongated form, The golden crozier of St Patrick. Faded gods upon ruined temples, All came alive, screeching creeds, Overwhelming minds and bodies, Fanatics expiring from confusion. In the shamanic ritualistic dance, Of an in-out, Hokey-Cokey culture, Spins the stained mah-jongg piece, The missing link apes checkmate. © Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved.”

SnakesSymbolismSerpentSnakeShamanDracoSt PatrickSignifiersMah JonggHokey Cokey
Author:Stewart Stafford
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“Shetani alikuwa malaika aliyeumbwa na Mungu lakini baadaye akamwonea Mungu wivu, wivu wa madaraka, hivyo Mungu akamtupa duniani kwa sababu ya kupingana na utawala wake mtakatifu. Duniani Shetani akamtumia nyoka kama mdakale kumdanganya Hawa. Hawa na Adamu wakamsikiliza Shetani badala ya kumsikiliza Mungu, nao wakalaaniwa. Shetani akajidai kuwa alikuwa na uwezo wa kufanya uzao wote wa Adamu na Hawa uwe mbali na Mungu, hivyo Mungu akampa muda wa kujaribu na kuthibitisha madai yake, lakini Shetani mpaka leo bado hajafanikiwa. Wakiitawala dunia leo kwa udanganyifu wa hali ya juu, pamoja naye, ni baadhi ya malaika ambao Shetani alifanikiwa kuwalaghai huko mbinguni. Mungu akawalaani pia na kuwatupa huku duniani, ambako Shetani alipapenda zaidi.”

WorldGodTimeHeavenPowerClaimsEnvySatanDeceitAdamAngelsOffspringSerpentMunguRuleDuniaShetaniEveMouthpieceMudaMbinguniMalaikaAdamuHawaMadarakaUtawalaNyokaWivuUdanganyifuUzaoMadaiMdakaleRightful RulershipUtawala Mtakatifu
Author:Enock Maregesi
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“Intellectualism is a poor master over passion”

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Book:The Universes Of God: The Chronicles Of The Angels
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“LAOCOON, n. A famous piece of antique scripture representing a priest of that name and his two sons in the folds of two enormous serpents. The skill and diligence with which the old man and lads support the serpents and keep them up to their work have been justly regarded as one of the noblest artistic illustrations of the mastery of human intelligence over brute inertia.”

MenHumansHas BeensTwoNamesSupportPiecesSonSkillsScriptureEnormousArtisticPriestsOld ManMasteryFoldsBrutesDiligenceRepresentingIllustrationSerpentInertiaLadAntiquesHuman Intelligence
Book:The Devil's Dictionary: Easyread Large Bold Edition
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“The spot where God's triumph is achieved, God's victory over sin, over lawlessness, is the cross of Calvary- the cross on which the Son of God died. In that cross and through the cross the works of the devil were destroyed, and the One who conquered him is yet to bruise the serpent's head in the final triumph when He comes again, as recorded in prophecy.”

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Author:Arno C. Gaebelein
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“There is not a little generalship and stratagem required in the managing and marshalling of our pleasures, so that each shall not mutually encroach to the destruction of all. For pleasures are very voracious, too apt to worry one another, and each, like Aaron's serpent, is prone to swallow up the rest. Thus drinking will soon destroy the power, gaming the means, and sensuality the taste, for other pleasures less seductive, but far more salubrious, and permanent as they are pure.”

MeanLittlesPleasureWorryTastePureDestructionDrinkingSensualityPermanentSeductiveSerpentGamingStratagem
Book:Lacon: Or Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think
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“All men possess in their bodies a poison which acts upon serpents; and the human saliva, it is said, makes them take to flight, as though they had been touched with boiling water. The same substance, it is said, destroys them the moment it enters their throat.”

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Book:Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder (Illustrated)
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“The faith towards God in Christ must be sure and steadfast, that it may solace and make glad the conscience, and put it to rest. When a man has this certainty, he has overcome the serpent; but if he be doubtful of the doctrine, it is for him very dangerous to dispute with the devil.”

IfsMenMayChristDangerousDevilConscienceOvercomingGladDoctrineCertaintyDisputesSolaceDoubtfulSerpentSteadfast
Book:The table talk or familiar discourse of Martin Luther, tr. by W. Hazlitt
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