"Rien ne brûle comme le froid"
— George R.R. Martin
Simplified Meaning:
When someone says 'nothing burns like the cold,' they mean that extremely cold temperatures can hurt just as much as something very hot. Imagine touching ice without gloves; your fingers will start to tingle and sting after a while. This pain from the cold feels sharp and intense, almost like a burn from a fire. Think about a time in history, like during the winter marches of soldiers. They often experienced frostbite, where the cold harms their skin and tissues just like a burn would. This shows how the cold can cause serious pain and damage, much like burning does. In everyday life, if you're outside on a freezing winter day without a coat, you feel the harshness of the cold against your skin. Your face and hands might become red and sore. So, just like you would protect yourself from fire, you need to bundle up and protect yourself from the cold to avoid that burning feeling.
