George R. R. Martin Quotes

It comes down to a choice between the Little Sisters and Big Brother, and I'm going with the Sisters.

Good men must not obey the laws too well.

I believe orders should be obeyed, but sometimes you have to think about the orders you get.

It is impossible to deny that people in power face more temptations than ordinary citizens.

When faced with the choice to Love or Decieve, therein lies the path to the Heroes and Thieves.

When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses.

If fighting is sure to result in victory, than you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's bidding.

A blue dog, you know, is the opposite of a yellow dog. And a yellow dog was somebody who was willing to follow his party even when he knew it was wrong.

Science cannot resolve moral conflicts, but it can help to more accurately frame the debates about those conflicts.

The key things are about power and about growing up and realizing as you grow up that there are consequences for the choices you make, especially when you get seduced by power.

Frankly, I wouldn't put anything past him [Nixon] and those damn technocrats. You can't begin to compete with the professional Nixonites when it comes to deception.... If Nixon told them to nationalize the railroads, they'd have nationalized the railroads. If he'd told them to exterminate the Jews, they'd have exterminated the Jews.

God save the king!

I had believed it [organizing the Watergate break-in] was wrong but believed that the greater good was in serving the President.

All the officials responsible for giving ethical advice to the emperor were chased away.

I must confess, that if left to act entirely upon my own judgment, I should not have recognized this provisional government …. But I claim no right to set up my own judgment against that of my government, believing strict obedience to the wishes of my government my first and sole duty.

If I accept the job, you will still interfere. I don’t want to fall out with you, as I believe that you are the right man to save the nation at the head of the army.

You are for kings the ears with which they hear, the eyes with which they see, the tongues with which they speak, the hands with which they strike.

Many government officials have very high moral standards at the beginning of their duties, but after a while some officials sway from the right path and easily fall into the temptation of bribery and fraud.

Politicians are expected to spend half their time talking to funders and to keep them happy. Given this context, it's not hard to see how a bribery charge can feel like a technical argument instead of a moral one.

How far do you go in following orders? So many people use it as an excuse, right? 'I was following orders.' But what does that mean?

Money makes everybody evil when you think about it.

Those who have the most power - whether famous TV anchors, rich Hollywood moguls, judges, Members of Congress, or the president of the United States - must decide how to exert that power: for corruption or for good.

Many people weigh the guilt, they will feel against the pleasure of the forbidden action they want to take.

I'm not saying that I've cheated, being in an intense love with somebody while also feeling the pulls of being a young man, especially being an object of attention.

Every good servant does not all commands.