One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
I am not questioning your honor, I am denying its existence.
Interpretation
The quote suggests a profound skepticism towards the concept of honor, implying it may be illusory or non-existent.
In this quote, George R. R. Martin challenges the very foundation of honor as a concept by not merely questioning it but outright denying its existence. This reflects a deeper philosophical inquiry into the nature of honor and ethics, suggesting that what people often regard as honorable may be purely a façade, and urging a more critical examination of societal values.
In practice
This quote can be used during a debate on ethical values in leadership.
One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
I hate outlines. I have a broad sense of where the story is going; I know the end, I know the end of the principal characters, and I know the major turning points and events from the books, the climaxes for each book, but I don't necessarily know each twist and turn along the way. That's something I discover in the course of writing and that's what makes writing enjoyable. I think if I outlined comprehensively and stuck to the outline the actual writing would be boring.
There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: “Not today.
I did not do it. Yet now I wish I had.’ He turned to face the hall, that sea of pale faces. ‘I wish I had enough poison for you all. You make me sorry that I am not the monster you would have me be, yet there it is. I am innocent, but I will get no justice here.
But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. 'Life is not a song, sweetling,' he'd told her, 'You may learn that one day to your sorrow.' In life, the monsters win, she told herself.
I write from this tight third-person viewpoint, where each chapter is seen through the eyes of one individual character. When I'm writing that character, I become that character and identify with that character.
People know things and have a remarkable capacity to act in their individual immediate interests all the time.
God's willingness to answer our prayers exceeds our willingness to give good and necessary things to our children, just as far as God's ability, goodness and perfection exceed our infirmities and evil.
Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.
Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion, for the real and for the truth.
And I, the former mystic, was thinking: Yes, man is stronger, greater than God. When Adam and Eve deceived You, You chased them from paradise. When You were displeased by Noah’s generation, You brought down the Flood. When Sodom lost Your favour, You caused the heavens to rain down fire and damnation. But look at these men whom You have betrayed, allowing them to be tortured, slaughtered, gassed, and burned, what do they do? They pray before You! They praise Your name!
Many people feel small because they're small and the universe is big, but I feel big.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.