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| Quotes |
"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." -Gandalf "You cannot pass! I am servant
of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You
cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of
Udun. Go back to the shadow! You cannot pass!" "I don't know half of
you half as well as I should like; and I like less than
half of you half as well as you deserve." "This is the hour of
the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields
to shake the towers and the counsels of the Great." "I will take the ring,
though I do not know the way." "She should not die,
so young and beautiful. At least, she should not die
alone." "The treacherous are
ever distrustful." "I am in fact a
Hobbit, in all but size." "I have an
unsatisfied desire to shoot well with a bow." "Never for long had
hope died in his staunch heart, and always until now he
had taken some thought for their return. But the bitter
truth came home to him at last: at best their provisions
would take then to their goal; and when the task was done,
there they would come to an end, alone, houseless,
foodless in the midst of a terrible desert. There could
be no return." "What do you mean? Do
you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good
morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good
on this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?" "Far above the Ephel
Dúath in the West the night-sky was still dim and pale.
There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor
high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle
for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he
looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to
him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought
pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small
and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for
ever beyond its reach." "But to Sam the
evening deepened into darkness as he stood at the Haven;
and as he looked at the grey sea he saw only a shadow on
the waters that was soon lost in the West. There still he
stood far into the night, hearing only the sigh and
murmur of the waves on the shores of Middle-earth, and
the sound of the sank deep into his heart. Beside him
stood Merry and Pippin, and they were silent." "He who breaks a
thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom." "I have no help to
send, therefore I must go myself." "Faithless is he that
says farewell when the road darkens." "He should not vow to
walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall." "It's wisdom to
recognize necessity, when all other courses have been
weighed, though as folly it may appear to those who cling
to false hope." "Hill. Yes, that was
it. But it is a hasty word for a thing that has stood
here ever since this part of the world was shaped." "It must often be so,
Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them
up, lose them, so that others may keep them." "And it is not our
part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few
lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world." "Do not meddle in the
affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to
anger." "Then Feanor swore a
terrible oath. His seven sons leapt straightaway to his
side and took the selfsame vow together, and red as blood
shone their drawn swords in the glare of the torches.
They swore an oath which none shall break, and none
should take, by even the name of Iluvatar, calling the
Everlasting Dark upon them if they kept it not; and Manwe
they named in witness, and Varda, and the hallowed
mountain of Taniquetil, vowing to pursue with vengeance
and hatred to the ends of the World Vala, Demon, Elf or
Man as yet unborn, or any creature, great or small, good
or evil, that time should bring forth unto the end of
days, whoso should hold or take or keep a Silmaril from
their possession. "Tears unnumbered ye
shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you,
and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your
lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the House
of Feanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto
the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it
shall be laid also. Their Oath shall drive them, and yet
betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that
they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things
turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin
and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. The
Dispossessed shall they be forever. "'Gandalf!' I said at
last, but my voice was only a whisper. Did he say: 'Hullo,
Pippin! This is a pleasant surprise!'? No, indeed! He
said: 'Get up, you tom-fool of a Took! Where, in the name
of wonder, in all this ruin is Treebeard? I want him.
Quick!'" "Keen, heart-piercing
was her song as the song of the lark that rises from the
gates of night and pours its voice among the dying stars,
seeing the sun behind the walls of the world; and the
song of Luthien released the bonds of winter, and the
frozen waters spoke, and flowers sprang from the cold
earth where her feet had passed." "Riders!" cried
Aragorn, springing to his feet. "Many riders on
swift steeds are coming towards us!" "Thou fool, no living
man may hinder me!" "Few can foresee
whither their road will lead them, till they come to its
end." "Thief! Thief!
Baggins! We hates it! We hates it forever!" "Sleep! I feel the
need of it. Yet my axe is restless in my hand. Give me a
row of orc-necks and room to swing and all weariness will
fall from me!" "What are you going
to do then?" asked Pippin, undaunted by the wizard's
bristling brows. "Fool of a Took!",
he growled. "This is a serious yourney, not a hobbit
walking-party. Trow yourself in next time, and then you
will be of no further nuisance. Now be quiet" "Don't you know my
name yet? That's the only answer. Tell me, who are you
alone, yourself and nameless? But you are young and I am
old. Eldest, that's what I am. Mark my words, my friends:
Tom was here before the river and the trees; Tom
remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He made
paths before the Big People, and saw the little People
arriving. He was here before the Kings and the graves and
the Barrow-wights. When the Elves passed westward, Tom
was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the
dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the
Dark Lord came from Outside." "We are seeking Baggins,"
he said hissing out the name like a snake. "Baggins
is with them. If he comes, you will tell us, and we will
repay you with gold. If you do not tell us, we will repay
you - otherwise" "If Gandalf would go
before us with a bright flame, he might melt a path for
you," said Legolas. The storm had troubled him
little, and he alone in the company remained still light
of heart. "Is it nice, my
preciousss? Is it juicy? Is it scrumptiously crunchable?" "'Much must be risked
in war,' said Denethor. 'Cair Andros is manned, and no
more can be sent so far. Yet I will not yield the River
and the Pelennor unfought, not if there is a captain here
who has still the courage to do his lord's will.' "And he sang to them,
now in the Elven tongue, now in the speech of the West,
until their hearts, wounded with sweet words, overflowed,
and their joy was like swords, and they passed in thought
out to regions where pain and delight flow together and
tears are the very wine of blessedness." "It
is told that even as Varda ended her labours, and they
were strong, when first Menelmacar strode up the sky and
the blue fire of Helluin flickered in the mists above the
borders of the world, in that hour the Children of the
Earth awoke, the Firstborn of Illúvatar. By the starlit
mere of Cuiviénen, Water of Awakening, they rose from
the sleep of Illúvatar; and while they dwelt yet silent
by Cuiviénen their eyes beheld first of all things the
stars of heaven. Therefore they have ever loved the
starlight, and have ever revered Varda Elentári above
all the Valar." "Then let us start as
soon as it is light tomorrow, if we can. The wolf that
one hears is worse than the orc that one fears." "And so Gollum found
them hours later, when he returned, crawling and creeping
down the path out of the gloom ahead. Sam sat propped
against the stone, his head dropping sideways and his
breathing heavy. In his lap lay Frodo's head, drowned
deep in sleep; upon his white forehead lay one of Sam's
brown hands, and the other lay softly upon his master's
breast. Peace was in both their faces. "For morning came,
morning and a wind from the sea; and darkness was removed,
and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them. And
then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang
as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the
sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came
even into the City." "Farewell, O twice
beloved! A Turin Turambar turun ambartanen: master of
doom by doom mastered! O happy to be dead!" "Then suddenly out of
the gloom came a sharp hiss. 'What has it got in its
pocketses?'" "Well, here is the
strangest riddle that we have yet found! A bound prisoner
escapes both from the Orcs and from the surrounding
horsemen. He then stops, while still in the open, and
cuts his bonds with an orc-knife. But how and why? For if
his legs were tied, how did he walk? And if his arms were
tied, how did he use the knife? And if neither were tied,
why did he cut the cords at all? Being pleased with his
skill, he then sat down and quietly ate some waybread!
That at least is enough to show that he was a hobbit,
without the mallorn-leaf. After that, I suppose, he
turned his arms into wings and flew away singing into the
trees. It should be easy to find him: we only need wings
ourselves!" "Dragons steal gold
and jewels, you know, from men and elves and dwarves,
wherever they can find them; and they guard their plunder
as long as they live (which is practically for ever,
unless they are killed), and never enjoy a brass ring of
it." "She lifted up her
hand and from the ring that she wore there issued a great
light that illuminated her alone and left all else dark.
She stood before Frodo seeming now tall beyond
measurement, and beatiful beyond enduring, terrible and
worshipful. Then she let her hand fall, and the light
faded, and suddenly she laughed again, and lo! she was
shrunken: a slender elf-woman, clad in simple white,
whose gentle voice was soft and sad. "For though I do not
ask for aid, we need it." "The one had leaves
of dark green that beneath were as shining silver, and
from each of his countless flowers a dew of silver light
was ever falling, and the earth beneath was dappled with
the shadows of his fluttering leaves." "Look, my friends!
Here's a pretty hobbit skin to wrap an elven princeling
in." "The story is cast in
terms of a good side, and a bad side, beauty against
ruthless ugliness, tyranny against kingship, moderated
freedom against compulsion that has long lost any object
save mere power, and so on; but both sides in some degree,
conservative or destructive, want a measure of control.
But if you have, as it were taken 'a vow of poverty',
renounced control, and take delight in things for
themselves without reference to yourself, watching,
observing, and to some extent knowing, then the question
of the rights and wrongs of power and control might
become utterly meaningless to you, and the means of power
quite valueless." (Letters, p. 178) "Dangerous!"
cried Gandalf. "And so am I, very dangerous: more
dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you
are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord." "There everlasting
thy naked self shall endure the torment of his scorn,
pierced by his eyes, unless thou yield to me the mastery
of thy tower" "Come not between the
nazgul and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn.
He will bare thee away to the Houses of Lamentation,
beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured
and thy shriviled mind be left naked to the lidless eye." "It needs more to
make a king than a piece of elvish glass, or a rabble
such as this." "Gandalf did not move.
And in that very moment, away behind in some far corner
of the city, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed
reckoning nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the
morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death
was coming with the dawn. "Fly you fools" "It's sunlight and
bright day, right enough. I thought that Elves were all
for moon and stars: but this is more elvish than anything
I ever heard tell of. I feel as if I was inside a
song, if you take my meaning." "I am glad you are
here with me, Sam. Here at the end of all things, Sam." "I am going to have a
long talk with Tom Bombadil: such a talk as I have not
had in all my time. He is a moss-gatherer, and I have
been a stone doomed to rolling." "Smeagol won't grub
for roots and carrotses and - taters. What's taters,
precious, eh, what's taters?" "The Nazgul they were;
the Ringwraiths, the Enemy's most terribly servants;
darkness went with them and they cried with the voices of
death" "A thing is about to
happen which has not happened since the Elder Days: the
Ents are going to wake up and find that they are strong." "And far away, as
Frodo put on the Ring and claimed it for his own, even in
Sammath Naur the very heart of his realm, the Power in
Barad-dur was shaken, and the Tower trembeled from its
foundations to its proud and bitter crown. The Dark Lord
was suddenly aware of him, and his Eye piercing all
shadows looked across the plain to the door that he had
made; and the magnitude of his own folly was revealed to
him in a blinding flash, and all the devices of his
enemies were at last laid bare. Then his wrath blazed in
consuming flame, but his fear rose like a vast black
smoke to choke him. For he knew his deadly peril and the
thread upon which his doom now hung. "But for a long time
Faramir walked alone in the garden, and now his glance
strayed rather to the house than to the eastward walls." "Sleep again and do
not be afraid! For you are not going like Frodo to Mordor,
but to Minas Tirith, and there you will be as safe as
anywhere these days. If Gondor falls, or the Ring is
taken, then the Shire will be no refuge." "Confusticate and
bebother these dwarves..." "Not this way, master!
There is another way. O yes indeed there is. Another way,
darker, more difficult to find, more secret. But Smeagol
knows it. Let Smeagol show you!" "Behold, I am not
Gandalf the Grey, whom you betrayed. I am Gandalf the
White, who has returned from death. You have no colour
now, and I cast you from the order and from the Council." "These staves he
spoke, yet he laughed as he said them. For once more lust
of battle was on him; and he was still unscathed, and he
was young, and he was king: the lord of a fell people." "They turned and ran.
At that moment some dozen Orcs that had lain motionless
among the slain leaped to their feet, and came silently
and swiftly behind. Two flung themselves to the ground at
Eomer's heels, tripped him, and in a moment they were on
top of him. But a small dark figure that none had
observed sprang out of the shadows and gave a hoarse
shout: Baruk Khazàd! Khazàd ai-mênu! An axe swung and
swept back. Two Orcs fell headless. The rest fled." "Where is the other
one? The cross rude hobbit?" "Handsome is as
handsome does." "Loud and clear it
sounds in the valleys of the hills. Then let the foes of
Gondor flee!" "'Hail, Gurtholfin,
wand of death, for thou art all men's bane and all men's
lives fain wouldst thou drink, knowing no lord or faith
save the hand that wields thee if it be strong. Thee only
have I now - slay me therefore and be swift, for life is
a curse, and all my days are creeping foul, and all my
deeds are vile and all I love is dead.' And Gurtholfin
said: 'That will I gladly do, for blood is blood, and
perchance thine is not less sweet than many a one's that
thou hast given me ere now'; and Turambar cast himself
then upon the point of Gurtholfin, and the dark blade
took his life." "Well done! Mr.
Baggins!" he said, clapping Bilbo on the back.
"There is always more to you than anyone expects!" "These are indeed
strange days. Dreams and legends spring to life out of
the grass." "To me! To me! Up
Eorlingas, fear no darkness!" "Its name was Cirith
Ungol, a name of dreadful rumour. Aragorn could perhaps
have told them that name and its significance; Gandalf
would have warned them. But they were alone, and Aragorn
was far away, and Gandalf stood amid the ruin of Isengard
and strove with Saruman, delayed by treason. Yet even as
he spoke his last words to Saruman, and the palantir
crashed in fire upon the steps of Orthanc, his thought
was ever upon Frodo and Samwise, over the long leagues
his mind sought for them in hope and pity." "Thag you very buch." "Frodo, Mr. Frodo!
Don't leave me here alone! It's your Sam calling. Don't
go where I can't follow! Wake up, Mr. Frodo! O wake up,
Frodo, me dear, me dear. Wake up!" "The wise speak only
of what they know, Grima son of Galmod. A witless worm
have you become. Therefore be silent, and keep your
forked tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed
through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a
serving-man till the lightning falls." "If it has passed
from the high and the beautiful to darkness and ruin,
that was of old the fate of Arda Marred; and if any
change shall come and the Marring be amended, Manwe and
Varda may know; but they have not revealed it, and it is
not declared in the dooms of Mandos." "We have sworn, and
not lightly. This oath we will keep. We are threatened
with many evils, and treason not least; but one thing is
not said: that we shall suffer from cowardice, from
cravens or the fear of cravens. Therefore I say that we
will go on, and this doom I add: the deeds that we shall
do shall be the matter of song until the last days of
Arda." "Of Course",
said Gandalf. "And why should not they prove true?
Surely you do not disbelieve the prophecies, because you
had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don't
really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and
escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole
benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I
am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little
fellow in a wide world after all!" "Some who have read
the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it
boring, absurd, or contemptible, and I have no cause to
complain, since I have similar opinions of their works..." "To walk in Time,
perhaps, as men walk on long roads... to see the lie of
old and even forgotten lands, to behold ancient men
walking, and to hear their languages as they spoke them,
in the days before the days, when tongues of forgotten
lineage were heard in kingdoms long fallen by the shores
of the Atlantic." "In all the days of
the Third Age, after the fall of Gil-galad, Master Elrond
abode in Imladris, and he gathered there many Elves, and
other folk of wisdom and power from among all the
kindreds of Middle-earth, and hepreserved through many
lives of Men the memory of all that had been fair;and the
house of Elrond was a refuge for the weary and the
oppressed, and a treasury of good counsel and wise lore." "The English-speaking
world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the
Ring and The Hobbit, and those who are going to read them." "A grim, tragic,
brooding and beautiful book, shot through with heroism
and hope...its power is almost that of mysticism." "How, given little
over half a century of work, did one man become the
creative equivalent of a people?"
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