One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
Why ask for truth," Ser Barristan said softly, "if you close your ears to it?
Interpretation
What this quote means
Seeking the truth requires openness to hear it, regardless of discomfort.
This quote emphasizes the idea that one cannot truly seek or understand the truth if they are unwilling to listen. It suggests that a preemptive closure of the mind to uncomfortable or challenging truths results in ignorance and hinders personal growth and understanding.
Themes
TruthListeningUnderstandingHonestyWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about integrity, one might reference this quote to highlight the importance of being open to difficult conversations.
More from George R. R. Martin
All quotes βI 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.
George R. R. MartinRead
There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: βNot today.
George R. R. MartinRead
I did not do it. Yet now I wish I had.β He turned to face the hall, that sea of pale faces. βI 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.
George R. R. MartinRead
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.
George R. R. MartinRead
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.
George R. R. MartinRead
Similar quotes
It ought not to be unpleasant to say that which one honestly believes or disbelieves. That it so constantly is painful to do so, is quite enough obstacle to the progress of mankind in that most valuable of all qualities, honesty of word or of deed.
Thomas HuxleyRead
The greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
The grandiose person is never really free; first because he is excessively dependent on admiration from others, and second, because his self-respect is dependent on qualities, functions, and achievements that can suddenly fail.
Alice MillerRead
I enjoy growing older and wiser and learning from my mistakes every single day.
Ellen DegeneresRead
A man who cannot get angry is like a stream that cannot overflow, that is always turbid. Sometimes indignation is as good as a thunderstorm in summer, clearing and cooling the air.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
Oscar WildeRead