One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
When treating with liars, even an honest man must lie.
Interpretation
What this quote means
In a world where deception is common, even the truthful may have to resort to dishonesty.
This quote by George R. R. Martin suggests that in interactions with those who are untrustworthy, even a person with integrity might find it necessary to bend the truth to navigate the situation. It highlights the moral complexities and compromises one may face in a deceitful environment, where honesty can be manipulated and integrity challenged.
Themes
LiarsTruthHonestyDeceptionMorality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a discussion about integrity in politics.
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
Remember this: once the human race is established on more than one planet and especially, in more than one solar system, there is no way now imaginable to kill off the human race.
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If there were reason for these miseries, then into limits could I bind my woes. If the winds rages, doth not the sea wax mad, threat'ning the welkin with its big-swoll'n face? And wilt though have a reason for this coil? I am the sea. Hark how her sighs doth blow. She is the weeping welkin, I the earth.
William ShakespeareRead
Let us have compassion for those under chastisement. Alas, who are we ourselves? Who am I and who are you? Whence do we come and is it quite certain that we did nothing before we were born? This earth is not without some resemblance to a gaol. Who knows but that man is a victim of divine justice? Look closely at life. It is so constituted that one senses punishment everywhere.
Victor HugoRead
Today I know that all things are watching, that nothing goes unseen, that even wallpaper has a better memory than human beings.
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Perhaps the only true dignity of man is his capacity to despise himself.
George SantayanaRead
The aim of the liar is simply to charm, to delight, to give pleasure. He is the very basis of civilized society.
Oscar WildeRead