Game Of Thrones Actor Dies At 93: RIP Peter Vaughan, Master Aemon; See 5 Of His Best GOT Quotes

Peter Vaughan, best known for portraying Game of Thrones’ Maester Aemon of the Night’s Watch, has died at the age of 93.

Apart from playing the wise Maester Aemon (and being one great mentor to Samwell Tarly), he’s also played many roles in the TV Sitcom Grouty, Citizen Smith, Chancer and Our Friends in the North.

To honor the great Maester, here are 5 of his best quotes from Game of Thrones:

“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.”

This is one of the most important quotes from Maester Aemon. Taking this to a broader context, it can be applied to other aspects of the book. Ruling and leading armies need to take this quote into consideration. Defeating enemies when it’s all in black and white is easy. But when it comes to the complexities of warfare, especially death. These difficult decisions decide whether a ruler is good or not, when it’s not obvious which choice is the correct one.

“Death should hold no fear for a man as old as me, but it does. Isn’t that silly? It is always dark where I am, so why should I fear the darkness? Who can say, truly? Who has been beyond the wall of death to see? Only the wights, and we know what they are like. We know.”

This scene is awesome. Imagine a wise old man kind of longing for death a little and wholeheartedly accepting his destiny has become such a trope. Aemon clinging to life and fearing the cold teeth of death was a nice twist that added so much to his wisdom. It depicted Aemon still living his life like the rest of us with a full range of variety emotions. It only shows that as he is a wise old Maester, he was at the same time a man who lived a complete life.

“Oh, I think that Lord Tyrion is quite a large man. I think he is a giant come among us, here at the end of the world.”

Aemon, though blind, saw many things the sighted could not. Tyrion is of course one of the key characters in the fight for the Throne, and clearly Aemon could see it, even when others cannot.

“Kill the boy, Jon Snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy and let the man be born.”

This is one of the best quotes from Aemon. This was his line when Jon Snow was elected as the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. Jon was unsure of himself, and Aemon bluntly told Jon that he should forgo his childish fear in order to stand up against opposition and the war that is to come. Talk about a huge heaping of inspiration from the man himself!

“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.”

Of all the things that a Maester seem to lack, love is the only thing that keeps them going. They might be unwed and committed to the cause, but Aemon knows very well the joys that come with true, genuine love. Master Aemon was a huge but satisfying loss for GoT, and Peter Vaughn was the best thing to have ever happened to the character.