β
A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5))
β
... a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Fear cuts deeper than swords.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Winter is coming.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire,
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
β
β
Robert Frost
β
Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire, 5-Book Boxed Set: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons (Song of Ice & Fire 1-5))
β
When you play a game of thrones you win or you die.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
The things we love destroy us every time, lad. Remember that.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Why is it that when one man builds a wall, the next man immediately needs to know what's on the other side?
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it's served up.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
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.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Once youβve accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
And I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms . . . or the memory of a brother's smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
If I look back I am lost.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Nothing burns like the cold.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
My skin has turned to porcelain, to ivory, to steel.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
Every man must die, Jon Snow. But first he must live.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
Laughter is poison to fear.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Power resides only where men believe it resides. [...] A shadow on the wall, yet shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
What do we say to the Lord of Death?'
'Not today.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
The brightest flame casts the darkest shadow.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5))
β
Every flight begins with a fall.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Silverstream: You idiot!!! What are you doing in my territory???
Graystripe:...Drowning?
Silverstream: Can't you do that in your own territory?
Graystripe: Ah, but who would rescue me there?
β
β
Erin Hunter
β
He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe. And... he's wonderful. - Tim Latimer
β
β
Paul Cornell
β
My old grandmother always used to say, Summer friends will melt away like summer snows, but winter friends are friends forever.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4))
β
Different roads sometimes lead to the same castle.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer and I have my mind...and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge. That's why I read so much Jon Snow.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Life is not a song, sweetling.
Someday you may learn that, to your sorrow.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Old stories are like old friends, she used to say. You have to visit them from time to time.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
Give me honorable enemies rather than ambitious ones, and I'll sleep more easily by night.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
There's no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
behind the mask of ice that people wear, there beats a heart of fire.
β
β
Paulo Coelho (Warrior of the Light)
β
Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
The man who fears losing has already lost.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
A bruise is a lesson... and each lesson makes us better.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
The things I do for love.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
You're mine," she whispered. "Mine, as I'm yours. And if we die, we die. All men must die, Jon Snow. But first, we'll live.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
Valar Morghulis.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
He who hurries through life hurries to his grave.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. Each should have its own reward.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
There is no creature on earth half so terrifying as a truly just man.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
I rose too high, loved too hard, dared too much. I tried to grasp a star, overreached, and fell.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5))
β
We look up at the same stars and see such different things.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
His breath hitched, and he regarded me hungrily. βYouβre playing with fire, you know that?β
βThatβs weird, considering youβre an ice prinββ I didnβt get any further, as Ash leaned in and kissed me.
β
β
Julie Kagawa (Winter's Passage (Iron Fey, #1.5))
β
Woman?β She chuckled. βIs that meant to insult me? I would return the slap, if I took you for a man.β Dany met his stare. βI am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the Unburnt, Mother of Dragons, khaleesi to Drogoβs riders, and queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
You may be as different as the sun and the moon, but the same blood flows through both your hearts. You need her, as she needs you...
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
A lion doesn't concern itself with the opinion of sheep.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano BuendΓa was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice...
β
β
Gabriel GarcΓa MΓ‘rquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude)
β
Crowns do queer things to the heads beneath them.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
I swear to you, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Kill the boy, Jon Snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy and let the man be born.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5))
β
I crossed a thousand leagues to come to you, and lost the best part of me along the way. Don't tell me to leave.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
Oh, my sweet summer child," Old Nan said quietly, "what do you know of fear?
Fear is for the winter, my little lord, when the snows fall a hundred feet
deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north. Fear is for the long
night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time, and little children
are born and live and die all in darkness while the direwolves grow gaunt and
hungry, and the white walkers move through the woods
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
The greatest fools are ofttimes more clever than the men who laugh at them.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
A lord must learn that sometimes words can accomplish what swords cannot.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
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. Itβs too much. No matter what you do, youβre forsaking one vow or the other.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
When you know what a man wants you know who he is, and how to move him.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
A woman's life is nine parts mess to one part magic, you'll learn that soon enough...and the parts that look like magic turn out to be the messiest of all.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
You know nothing, Jon Snow.
β
β
George R.R. Martin
β
A man might befriend a wolf, even break a wolf, but no man could truly tame a wolf.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5))
β
If you need help bark like a dog." - Gendry.
"That's stupid. If I need help I'll shout help." - Arya
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
...the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword."
"...a ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends," Ser Jorah told her. "It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace." He gave a shrug. "They never are.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
My sister has mistaken me for a mushroom. She keeps me in the dark and feeds me shit.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
Donβt call me Lord Snow.β
The dwarf lifted an eyebrow. βWould you rather be called the Imp? Let them see that their words can cut you and youβll never be free of the mockery. If they want to give you a name take it make it your own. Then they canβt hurt you with it anymore.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
I've lost a hand, a father, a son, a sister, and a lover, and soon enough I will lose a brother. And yet they keep telling me House Lannister won this war.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
A cold wind was blowing from the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
If a man paints a target on his chest, he should expect that sooner or later someone will loose an arrow on him.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
...How would you like to die, Tyrion son of Tywin?"
"In my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a maiden's mouth around my cock, at the age of eighty," he replied.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Swift as a deer. Quiet as a shadow. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Quick as a snake. Calm as still water.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.
β
β
George R.R. Martin
β
Why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones?
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
All these kings would do a deal better if they would put down their swords and listen to their mothers.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
You wear your honor like a suit of armor... You think it keeps you safe, but all it does is weigh you down and make it hard for you to move.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
I want to weep, she thought. I want to be comforted. Iβm so tired of being strong. I want to be foolish and frightened for once. Just for a small while, thatβs all β¦a day β¦ an hour ...
...One day, she promised herself as she lay abed, one day she would allow herself to be less than strong.
But not today. It could not be today.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
β
It all goes back and back," Tyrion thought, "to our mothers and fathers and theirs before them. We are puppets dancing on the strings of those who came before us, and one day our own children will take up our strings and dance in our steads.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east," she said sadly. "When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When my womb quickens again, and I bear a living child. Then you will return, my sun-and-stars, and not before." -Daenerys Targaryen
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Kallor shrugged. '[...] I have walked this land when the T'lan Imass were but children. I have commanded armies a hundred thousand strong. I have spread the fire of my wrath across entire continents, and sat alone upon tall thrones. Do you grasp the meaning of this?'
'Yes,' [said Caladan Brood.] 'You never learn.
β
β
Steven Erikson (Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3))
β
All that Syrio Forel had taught her went racing through her head. Swift as a deer. Quiet as shadow. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Quick as a snake. Calm as still water. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Strong as a bear. Fierce as a wolverine. Fear cuts deeper than swords. The man who fears losing has already lost. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Fear cuts deeper than swords.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
I didnβt ask. Some things are better left unsaid.
He looked at me and I shivered. I never get enough of him.
Never will.
He lives.
I breathe.
I want. Him. Always.
Fire to my ice. Ice to my fever.
Later we would go to bed, and when he rose over me, dark and vast and eternal, Iβd know joy.
β
β
Karen Marie Moning (Shadowfever (Fever, #5))
β
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. (Maester Aemon)
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
You are your mother's trueborn son of Lannister."
"Am I?" the dwarf replied, sardonic. "Do tell my lord father. My mother died birthing me, and he's never been sure."
"I don't even know who my mother was," Jon said.
"Some woman, no doubt. Most of them are." He favored Jon with a rueful grin. "Remember this, boy. All dwarfs may be bastards, yet not all bastards need be dwarfs."
And with that he turned and sauntered back into the feast, whistling a tune.
When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Needle was Robb and Bran and Rickon, her mother and her father, even Sansa. Needle was Winterfell's grey walls, and the laughter of its people. Needle was the summer snows, Old Nan's stories, the heart tree with its red leaves and scary face, the warm earthy smell of the glass gardens, the sound of the north wind rattling the shutters of her room. Needle was Jon Snow's smile. He used to mess my hair and call me "little sister," she remembered, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4))
β
Love is the bane of honor, the death of duty. What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms ... or the memory of a brother's smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
Stood in firelight, sweltering. Bloodstain on chest like map of violent new continent. Felt cleansed. Felt dark planet turn under my feet and knew what cats know that makes them scream like babies in night.
Looked at sky through smoke heavy with human fat and God was not there. The cold, suffocating dark goes on forever and we are alone. Live our lives, lacking anything better to do. Devise reason later. Born from oblivion; bear children, hell-bound as ourselves, go into oblivion. There is nothing else.
Existence is random. Has no pattern save what we imagine after staring at it for too long. No meaning save what we choose to impose. This rudderless world is not shaped by vague metaphysical forces. It is not God who kills the children. Not fate that butchers them or destiny that feeds them to the dogs. Itβs us. Only us. Streets stank of fire. The void breathed hard on my heart, turning its illusions to ice, shattering them. Was reborn then, free to scrawl own design on this morally blank world.
Was Rorschach.
Does that answer your Questions, Doctor?
β
β
Alan Moore (Watchmen)
β
And who are you, the proud Lord said
that I must bow so low?
Only a cat of a different coat,
that's all the truth I know.
In a coat of gold or a coat of red,
a lion still has claws.
And, mine are as long and sharp, my Lord
as long and sharp as yours.
And so he spoke, and so he spoke,
that Lord of Castamere,
but now the rains weep o'er his hall,
with no one there to hear.
Yes, now the rains weep o'er his hall,
and not a soul to hear.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3))
β
Weβre so self-important. Everybodyβs going to save something now. βSave the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails.β And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. Save the planet, we donβt even know how to take care of ourselves yet. Iβm tired of this shit. Iβm tired of f-ing Earth Day. Iβm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is that there arenβt enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for Volvos. Besides, environmentalists donβt give a shit about the planet. Not in the abstract they donβt. You know what theyβre interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. Theyβre worried that some day in the future they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesnβt impress me.
The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles β¦ hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages β¦ And we think some plastic bags and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet isnβt going anywhere. WE are!
Weβre going away. Pack your shit, folks. Weβre going away. And we wonβt leave much of a trace, either. Maybe a little Styrofoam β¦ The planetβll be here and weβll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planetβll shake us off like a bad case of fleas.
The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after weβre gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, βcause thatβs what it does. Itβs a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed. And if itβs true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesnβt share our prejudice toward plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didnβt know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical question, βWhy are we here?β
Plastic⦠asshole.
β
β
George Carlin
β
Oh, I think not,β Varys said, swirling the wine in his cup. βPower is a curious thing, my lord. Perchance you have considered the riddle I posed you that day in the inn?β
βIt has crossed my mind a time or two,β Tyrion admitted. βThe king, the priest, the rich manβwho lives and who dies? Who will the swordsman obey? Itβs a riddle without an answer, or rather, too many answers. All depends on the man with the sword.β
βAnd yet he is no one,β Varys said. βHe has neither crown nor gold nor favor of the gods, only a piece of pointed steel.β
βThat piece of steel is the power of life and death.β
βJust soβ¦ yet if it is the swordsmen who rule us in truth, why do we pretend our kings hold the power? Why should a strong man with a sword ever obey a child king like Joffrey, or a wine-sodden oaf like his father?β
βBecause these child kings and drunken oafs can call other strong men, with other swords.β
βThen these other swordsmen have the true power. Or do they?β Varys smiled. βSome say knowledge is power. Some tell us that all power comes from the gods. Others say it derives from law. Yet that day on the steps of Baelorβs Sept, our godly High Septon and the lawful Queen Regent and your ever-so-knowledgeable servant were as powerless as any cobbler or cooper in the crowd. Who truly killed Eddard Stark, do you think? Joffrey, who gave the command? Ser Ilyn Payne, who swung the sword? Orβ¦ another?β
Tyrion cocked his head sideways. βDid you mean to answer your damned riddle, or only to make my head ache worse?β
Varys smiled. βHere, then. Power resides where men believe it resides. No more and no less.β
βSo power is a mummerβs trick?β
βA shadow on the wall,β Varys murmured, βyet shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow.β
Tyrion smiled. βLord Varys, I am growing strangely fond of you. I may kill you yet, but I think Iβd feel sad about it.β
βI will take that as high praise.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))