One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Decisions about life and death carry a heavy responsibility.
This quote emphasizes the gravity of making life-altering decisions, particularly those involving death. It suggests that one should fully confront the consequences of their actions by facing those affected, implying that if a person is not willing to witness the impact of their judgment, they may not be justified in making such a decision in the first place.
Themes
DecisionResponsibilityLifeDeathJustice
In practice
Example use cases
A judge quoting this during a sentencing to remind everyone of the seriousness of their responsibility.
More from George R. R. Martin
All quotes →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.
George R. R. MartinRead
There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: “Not today.
George R. R. MartinRead
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.
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
If we wish to discuss knowledge in the most highly developed contemporary society, we must answer the preliminary question of what methodological representation to apply to that society
Jean-Francois LyotardRead
There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
Henry David ThoreauRead
My suggestion is that at each state the proper order of operation of the mind requires an overall grasp of what is generally known, not only in formal logical, mathematical terms, but also intuitively, in images, feelings, poetic usage of language, etc.
David BohmRead
Whosoever wishes to know about the world must learn about it in its particular details. Knowledge is not intelligence. In searching for the truth be ready for the unexpected. Change alone is unchanging. The same road goes both up and down. The beginning of a circle is also its end. Not I, but the world says it: all is one. And yet everything comes in season.
HeraclitusRead
If we care about the average working American, then Wal-Mart matters. A lot.
Simon SinekRead
Youth is an unpleasant period; for then it is not possible or not prudent to be productive in any sense whatsoever.
Friedrich NietzscheRead