Noteworthy quotes from George R.R. Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’

A Game of Thrones (Book 1)

• “…a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge” (p. 124). — Tyrion Lannister to Jon Snow.
  • This is one of my favorite quotes in the entire series. I love reading, and there are many mental health benefits of reading, including but not limited to reduction in depression symptoms, grief, and cognitive benefits to people with dementia.
• “We all need to be mocked from time to time, Lord Mormont, lest we start to take ourselves too seriously” (p. 205). — Tyrion.
  • The ability to laugh at yourself is, I believe, a vital soft skill to have.
• “Know the men who follow you, and let them know you. Don’t ask your men to die for a stranger” (p. 217). — Ned Stark to Rob Stark, overheard by Arya Stark.
• “The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends. It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace. They never are” (p. 233). — Ser Jorah to Daenarys Targaryen.
• “Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it” (p. 264). — Tyrion’s inner dialogue.
  • Why is this? For all people, not just men, truth gets in the way of comfort. Accepting a hard truth requires a change to take place. Most people, men especially, are adverse to change. Most people don’t want to be told they are wrong. As this is a Christian blog, the Gospel requires us to understand that we are wrong. We can all do better by coming to the conclusion that, as much as we’d like to think it, we don’t have it all together and we need the truth of the Word of God to tell us this and give us the Gospel as the solution.
• “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground” (p. 488). — Cersei Lannister to Ned Stark.
• “The High Septon once told me that as we sin, so do we suffer. If that’s true, Lord Eddard, tell me… why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones?” (p. 636). — Lord Varys
• “…love is the bane of honor, the death of duty” (p. 662). — Maester Aemon to Jon Snow.
  • This simple quote is crucial to understanding why the characters with so much nobility and honor often lose the game of thrones, because although they have great honor, their love often leads them to abandon their duty. Whether you’ve read the books or watched the show, just think of Rob Stark. He could have easily won his war, but then his love for another woman caused him to abandon both his honor and his duty to uphold the promise he made to Walder Frey.
• “We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy” (p. 662). — Maester Aemon to Jon Snow.
  • Similar to my point above, love has led us to great achievements; it has also led us to great tragedies.
• “A craven can be as brave as any man, when there is nothing to fear. And we all do our duty, when there is no cost to it. How easy it seems then, to walk the path of honor. Yet soon or late in every man’s life comes a day when it is not easy, a day when he must choose” (p. 663). — Maester Aemon to Jon Snow

A Storm of Swords (Book 3)

Yes, book three. I didn’t have any favorite quotes from the second book, A Clash of Kings.

• “The greatest fools are ofttimes more clever than the men who laugh at them” (p. 272). — Tywin Lannister to Tyrion as he commanded him to marry Sansa Stark.
• “Old stories are like old friends, she used to say. You have to visit them from time to time” (p. 337). — Bran Stark quoting Old Nan.
• “Any man who must say ‘I am the king’ is no true king at all” (p. 715). — Tywin to Joffrey.
• “Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot know what you are like to do next. Sometimes the best way to baffle them is to make moves that have no purpose, or even seem to work against you. Remember that, Sansa, when you come to play the game” (p. 841). — Littlefinger (Petyr Baelish).

A Feast for Crows (Book 4)

• “…truth and learning, rare and beautiful and fragile things” (p. 13). — Maester Armen to Pate.
• “…even with knowledge, some things are not possible” (p. 13). — Maester Armen to Pate.
• “Words are like arrows, Arianne. Once loosed, you cannot call them back” (p. 46). — Captain Areo Hotah remembering words of Doran Martell.
  • Wise words we should all consider in real life.
• “Friend or foe, the crows care not” (p. 186). — Lord Randyll Tarly’s inner dialogue.
• “…history is a wheel, for the nature of man is fundamentally unchanging. What has happened before will perforce happen again” (p. 234). — Lord Rodrik Harlaw to Asha Greyjoy.
• “I prefer my history dead. Dead history is writ in ink, the living sort in blood” (p. 236). — Lord Rodrik to Asha.
• “Crows will fight over a dead man’s flesh and kill each other for his eyes. We had one king, then five. Now all I see are crows, squabbling over the corpse of Westeros” (p. 237). — Lord Rodrik to Asha.
  • This, I believe, is the hub of A Feast for Crows, especially considering the events of the previous two books, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords.
• “Then you are just another crow, screaming for carrion” (pp. 238-239). — Lord Rodrik to Asha.
• “In the game of thrones, even the humblest of pieces can have wills of their own. Sometimes they refuse to make the moves you’ve planned for them” (p. 477). — Petyr Baelish to Sansa.
• “This is a time for beasts, for lions and wolves and angry dogs, for ravens and carrion crows” (p. 647). — Jaime Lannister’s inner dialogue.
• “It is being common-born that is dangerous, when the great lords play their game of thrones” (p. 782). — Septon Meribald to Ser Hyle.
• “The night is dark and full of terrors, and so are dreams” (p. 899). — Septon Meribald’s inner dialogue.

A Dance with Dragons (Book 5)

• “And a chain and a keep are nothing, compared to a woman’s kiss” (p. 90). — A line from a song Tyrion sings.
• “My old Septon used to say that books are dead men talking. Dead men should keep quiet, is what I say. No one wants to hear a dead man’s yabber” (p. 104). — Dolorous Edd to Jon Snow.
  • Despite my love for books, I found this quote hilarious.
• “A wall is only as strong as the men who stand behind it” (p. 116). — Jon Snow remembering what Ned Stark said.
• “Every dwarf is a bastard in his father’s eyes” (p. 125). — Tyrion to Haldon Halfmaester.
• “Words are wind, and the wind from Manderly’s mouth means no more than the wind escaping out his bottom” (p. 143). — Lord Godric.
  • Another hilarious quote.
• “Plots within plots, but all roads lead down the dragon’s gullet” (p. 402). — Tyrion’s inner dialogue.
• “Sleep is a little death, dreams the whisperings of the Other, who would drag us all into his eternal night” (p. 450). — Melisandre’s inner dialogue.
• “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only once” (p. 495). — Jojen to Bran.
  • My absolute favorite quote in the entire series. If you don’t like to read but would like to consider trying, start by reading this article.
• “The only time a man can be brave is when he is afraid” (p. 500). — Bran remembering what his father told him.
• “The past remains the past. We can learn form it, but we cannot change it” (p. 503). — Leaf (a child of the forest) to Bran.
• “All men must die. We are but death’s instruments, not death himself. When you slew the singer, you took god’s powers on yourself. We kill men, but we do not presume to judge” (p. 657). — The kindly man to Arya.
• “It is chivalry that makes a true knight, not a sword. Without honor, a knight is no more than a common killer” (p. 961). — Ser Barristan to his pupil knights.
  • This is crucial when considering the “knights” who serve Cersei and likeminded wicked lords.
• “Summer friends will melt away like summer snows, but winter friends are friends forever” (p. 994). — Mully quoting his grandmother to Jon Snow.
• “Not all men are meant to dance with dragons” (p. 1003). — Quentyn Martell’s inner dialogue.
  • I believe this is the hub of A Dance with Dragons.