One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
So many vows … they make you swear and swear. Defend the king. Obey the king. Keep his secrets. Do his bidding. Your life for his. But obey your father. Love your sister. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. Respect the gods. Obey the laws. It’s too much. No matter what you do, you’re forsaking one vow or another.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the conflicting nature of loyalty and duty, illustrating how fulfilling one vow often means neglecting another.
In this quote, George R. R. Martin explores the heavy burden of commitment to various allegiances, such as loyalty to a king, family, and moral principles. The speaker conveys a sense of frustration with the multitude of expectations placed upon individuals, suggesting that in striving to honor one obligation, one inevitably fails to honor another, thereby raising questions about the nature of duty and the compromises that come with it.
Themes
LoyaltyVowsConflictDutyFamilyMorality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the complexities of duty during a philosophy class.
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
Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
Abide in peace, banish cares, take no account of all that happens, and you will serve God according to his good pleasure and rest in him.
John Of The CrossRead
if a person wishes to achieve peace of mind and happiness then they should acquire faith, but if they want to be a disciple of truth, which can be "frightening and ugly,” then they need to search.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due to the absence from Jerusalem of a lunatic asylum.
Thomas PaineRead
We're not on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves. But in doing that you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes.
Joseph CampbellRead
Estrangement shows itself precisely in the elimination of distance between people.
Theodor AdornoRead