The pagan Stoic poet, Cleanthes, who flourished B.C. 260, would seem
to have caught a glimpse of the maternal quality of God. One of his
prayers is:
“Merciful mother! bestow favor upon me, thy poor worshiper,
whatever evil I may be guilty of. Thou hast a maternal nature,
art gentle and patient, thou supreme one.” (Text.)
(1990)
=Maternal Love and Fiction=--See MOTHERS NOT IN FICTION.