The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring (1954); This page is for quotations from the first volume The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.

For quotes from the movie adaptatons see: The Lord of the Rings Movie Trilogy

Table of contents

1 Prologue 2 Book I 2.1 A Long-expected Party 2.2 The Shadow of the Past 2.3 Three is Company 2.4 A Short Cut to Mushrooms 2.5 A Conspiracy Unmasked 2.6 The Old Forest 2.7 In the House of Tom Bombadil 2.8 Fog on the Barrow-Downs 2.9 At the Sign of The Prancing Pony 2.10 Strider 2.11 A Knife in the Dark 2.12 Flight to the Ford 3 Book II 3.1 Many Meetings 3.2 The Council of Elrond 3.3 The Ring Goes South 3.4 A Journey in the Dark 3.5 The Bridge of Khazad-dûm 3.6 Lothlórien 3.7 The Mirror of Galadriel 3.8 Farewell to Lórien 3.9 The Great River 3.10 The Breaking of the Fellowship 4 See also 5 External links

Prologue

• "Eventually he got the true tale out of Bilbo after much questioning, which for a while strained their friendship; but the wizard seemed to think the truth important."
  • Referring to Bilbo's initial lies concerning the origins of the One Ring .

Book I

A Long-expected Party

• "Hobbits give presents to other people on their own birthdays."

• "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."
  • Bilbo's "farewell speech".

• "I wanted the truth. It was important. Magic rings are, well — magical; and they are rare and curious." (Gandalf to Bilbo Baggins )

The Shadow of the Past

• "'Queer things you do hear these days, to be sure,' said Sam.
  'Ah,' said Ted, 'you do, if you listen. But I can hear fireside-tales and children's stories at home, if I want to.'
  'No doubt you can,' retorted Sam, 'and I daresay there's more truth in some of them than you reckon.'"

• "Of all the legends that he had heard in his early years such fragments of tales and half-remembered stories about the Elves as the hobbits knew, had always moved him most deeply. 'There are some, even in these parts, as know the Fair Folk and get news of them,' he said." (Sam )

• "'It is far more powerful than I ever dared to think at first, so powerful that in the end it would utterly overcome anyone of mortal race who possessed it. It would possess him.'"
  • Gandalf , referring to the One Ring .

• "'I still do not know, one might say. There is a last test to make. But I no longer doubt my guess.'"
  • Gandalf , referring to the identity of the One Ring .

• "Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
  Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
  Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
  One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
  In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
  One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
  One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
  In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."
  • In the story this is a translation of a verse in the Black Speech .

• "'Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and grows again.'
  I wish it need not have happened in my time,' said Frodo.
  'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'"

• "What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!'
  'Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity.'" (Frodo and Gandalf )

• "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. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many—yours not least." (Gandalf )

• "I am not made for perilous quests. I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?'
  'Such questions cannot be answered,' said Gandalf. 'You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess: not for power or wisdom, at any rate. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.'"

• "I should like to save the Shire, if I could – though there have been times when I thought the inhabitants too stupid and dull for words, and have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them. But I don't feel like that now. I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot stand there again." (Frodo )

Three is Company

• "The Road goes ever on and on
  Down from the door where it began.
  Now far ahead the Road has gone,
  And I must follow, if I can,
  Pursuing it with eager feet,
  Until it joins some larger way,
  Where many paths and errands meet.
  And whither then? I cannot say."

• "'It may not matter much,' he said apologetically, 'but I would rather not be seen on the road — by anyone. I am sick of my doings being noticed and discussed."
  • Frodo at the approach of the first Black Rider .
• "Still round the corner there may wait
  A new road or a secret gate,
  And though we pass them by today,
  Tomorrow we may come this way
  And take the hidden paths that run
  Towards the Moon or to the Sun."

• "Home is behind, the world ahead,
  And there are many paths to tread
  Through shadows to the edge of night,
  Until the stars are all alight."

• "The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out." (Gildor )

• "But it is said: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." (Gildor )

• "Elves seldom give unguarded advice, for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill." (Gildor )

• "The Elves have their own labours and their own sorrows, and they are little concerned with the ways of hobbits, or of any other creatures upon earth. Our paths cross theirs seldom, by chance or purpose. In this meeting there may be more than chance; but the purpose is not clear to me, and I fear to say too much." (Gildor )

• "I name you Elf-friend; and may the stars shine upon the end of your road! Seldom have we had such delight in strangers, and it is fair to hear words of the Ancient Speech from the lips of other wanderers in the world." (Gildor to Frodo )

A Short Cut to Mushrooms

• "'They seem a bit above my likes and dislikes, so to speak,' answered Sam slowly. 'It don't seem to matter what I think about them. They are quite different from what I expected — so old and young, and so gay and sad, as it were.'"
  • Sam speaking of the Elves.

• "Short cuts make long delays."
  • Pippin , quoting a Hobbit proverb.

A Conspiracy Unmasked

• "You speak of danger, but you do not understand. This is no treasure-hunt, no there-and-back journey. I am flying from deadly peril into deadly peril." (Frodo )

• "You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin — to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours — closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word." (Merry to Frodo )

The Old Forest

• "There was another burst of song, and then suddenly, hopping and dancing along the path, there appeared above the reeds an old battered hat with a tall crown and a long blue feather stuck in the band. With another hop and a bound there came into view a man, or so it seemed."

• "Now let the song begin! Let us sing together
  Of sun, stars, moon and mist, rain and cloudy weather,
  Light on the budding leaf, dew on the feather,
  Wind on the open hill, bells on the heather,
  Reeds by the shady pool, lilies on the water:
  Old Tom Bombadil and the River-daughter!"

• "And with that song the hobbits stood upon the threshold, and a golden light was all about them."

In the House of Tom Bombadil

• "I see you are an elf-friend; the light in your eyes and the ring in your voice tells it." (Goldberry to Frodo )

• "'Fair lady!' said Frodo again after a while. 'Tell me, if my asking does not seem foolish, who is Tom Bombadil?'" (to Goldberry )

• "'The trees and the grasses and all things growing or living in the land belong each to themselves. Tom Bombadil is the Master. No one has ever caught old Tom walking in the forest, wading in the water, leaping on the hill-tops under light and shadow. He has no fear. Tom Bombadil is master.'" (Goldberry )

• "Did I hear you calling? Nay, I did not hear: I was busy singing. Just chance brought me then, if chance you call it. It was no plan of mine, though I was waiting for you." (Tom Bombadil )

• "Now is the time for resting. Some things are ill to hear when the world's in shadow." (Tom Bombadil )

• "Leave your game and sit down beside me! We must talk a while more, and think about the morning. Tom must teach the right road, and keep your feet from wandering."
  • Tom Bombadil to Frodo , whom he can see even though the latter is wearing the Ring .

Fog on the Barrow-Downs

• " Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow,
  Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
  None has ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the master:
  His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster."

• "Come never here again! Leave your barrow empty!
  Lost and forgotten be, darker than the darkness,
  Where gates stand for ever shut, till the world is mended."

• "You've found yourselves again, out of the deep water. Clothes are but little loss, if you escape from drowning." (Tom Bombadil )

• "'Few now remember them,' Tom murmured, 'yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless.'
  The hobbits did not understand his words, but as he spoke they had a vision as it were of a great expanse of years behind them, like a vast shadowy plain over which there strode shapes of Men, tall and grim with bright swords, and last came one with a star on his brow."

At the Sign of The Prancing Pony

• "He is one of the wandering folk — Rangers we call them. He seldom talks: not but what he can tell a rare tale when he has the mind. He disappears for a month, or a year, and then he pops up again. He was in and out pretty often last spring; but I haven't seen him about lately. What his right name is I've never heard: but he's known round here as Strider." (Barliman Butterbur referring to "Strider ")

Strider

• "'I mean just this: I will tell you what I know, and give you some good advice — but I shall want a reward.' [...] 'Just this: you must take me along with you, until I wish to leave you.'" (Aragorn )

• "Even if I wanted another companion, I should not agree to any such thing, until I knew a good deal more about you, and your business." (Frodo )

• "You can do as you like about my reward: take me as a guide or not. But I may say that I know all the lands between the Shire and the Misty Mountains, for I have wandered over them for many years. I am older than I look. I might prove useful." (Aragorn )

• "Who would you take up with?' asked Strider. 'A fat innkeeper who only remembers his own name because people shout it at him all day?"

• All that is gold does not glitter,
  Not all those who wander are lost;
  The old that is strong does not wither,
  Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
  From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
  A light from the shadows shall spring;
  Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
  The crownless again shall be king."

• "I did not intend to tell you all about myself at once. I had to study you first, and make sure of you. The Enemy has set traps for me before now. As soon as I had made up my mind, I was ready to tell you whatever you asked. But I must admit,' he added with a queer laugh, 'that I hoped you would take to me for my own sake. A hunted man sometimes wearies of distrust and longs for friendship." (Aragorn )

• "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn; and if by life or death I can save you, I will." (Aragorn )

• "You have frightened me several times tonight, but never in the way that servants of the Enemy would, or so I imagine. I think one of his spies would — well, seem fairer and feel fouler, if you understand." (Frodo )

• "Do not give up hope! Gandalf is greater than you Shire-folk know — as a rule you can only see his jokes and toys. But this business of ours will be his greatest task." (Aragorn )

A Knife in the Dark

• "Gil-galad was an Elven-king.
  Of him the harpers sadly sing:
  the last whose realm was fair and free
  between the Mountains and the Sea.

• "'The black horses can see, and the Riders can use men and other creatures as spies, as we found at Bree. They themselves do not see the world of light as we do, but our shapes cast shadows in their minds, which only the noon sun destroys; and in the dark they perceive many signs and forms that are hidden from us: then they are most to be feared. And at all times they smell the blood of living things, desiring and hating it. Senses, too, there are other than sight or smell. We can feel their presence — it troubled our hearts, as soon as we came here, and before we saw them; they feel ours more keenly. Also,' he added, and his voice sank to a whisper, 'the Ring draws them.'" (Aragorn )

• "'There is still hope,' he said. 'You are not alone. Let us take this wood that is set ready for the fire as a sign. There is little shelter or defence here, but fire shall serve for both. Sauron can put fire to his evil uses, as he can all things, but these Riders do not love it, and fear those who wield it. Fire is our friend in the wilderness.'" (Aragorn )

• "'I will tell you the tale of Tinúviel,' said Strider, 'in brief — for it is a long tale of which the end is not known; and there are none now, except Elrond, that remember it aright as it was told of old."

Flight to the Ford

• "He bitterly regretted his foolishness, and reproached himself for weakness of will; for he now perceived that in putting on the Ring he obeyed not his own desire but the commanding wish of his enemies."

• "There my heart is; but it is not my fate to sit in peace, even in the fair house of Elrond." (Aragorn )

• "'By Elbereth and Lúthien the Fair,' said Frodo with a last effort, lifting up his sword, 'you shall have neither the Ring nor me!'"
  • Frodo 's defiance of the Nazgûl at the Fords of Bruinen.
• "There came a plumed cavalry of waves. White flames seemed to Frodo to flicker on their crests and he half fancied that he saw amid the water white riders upon white horses with frothing manes."

• "It seemed to him that he saw, beyond the Riders that hesitated on the shore, a shining figure of white light; and behind it ran small shadowy forms waving flames, that flared red in the grey mist that was falling over the world."

Book II

Many Meetings

• "There are many powers in the world, for good or for evil. Some are greater than I am. Against some I have not yet been measured. But my time is coming." (Gandalf to Frodo )

• "I have become very fond of Strider. Well, fond is not the right word. I mean he is dear to me; though he is strange, and grim at times. In fact, he reminds me often of you. I didn't know that any of the Big People were like that. I thought, well, that they were just big, and rather stupid." (Frodo )

• "'They tried to pierce your heart with a Morgul-knife which remains in the wound. If they had succeeded, you would have become like they are, only weaker and under their command.'" (Gandalf to Frodo )

• "'Fortune or fate have helped you,' said Gandalf, 'not to mention courage. For your heart was not touched, and only your shoulder was pierced; and that was because you resisted to the last.'"

• "You were in gravest peril while you wore the Ring, for then you were half in the wraith-world yourself, and they might have seized you. You could see them, and they could see you." (Gandalf to Frodo )

• "He is not half through yet, and to what he will come in the end not even Elrond can foretell. Not to evil, I think. He may become like a glass filled with a clear light for eyes to see that can."
  • Gandalf speaking to himself about Frodo .

• "Caught between fire and water, and seeing an Elf-lord revealed in his wrath, they were dismayed, and their horses were stricken with madness." (Gandalf to Frodo )

• "Their horses must have perished, and without them they are crippled. But the Ringwraiths themselves cannot be so easily destroyed." (Gandalf )

• "I added a few touches of my own: you may not have noticed, but some of the waves took the form of great white horses with shining white riders; and there were many rolling and grinding boulders. For a moment I was afraid that we had let loose too fierce a wrath, and the flood would get out of hand and wash you all away. There is great vigour in the waters that come down from the snows of the Misty Mountains." (Gandalf to Frodo )

• "The face of Elrond was ageless, neither old nor young, though in it was written the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful."

• "Frodo saw her whom few mortals had yet seen; Arwen, daughter of Elrond, in whom it was said that the likeness of Lúthien had come on earth again; and she was called Undómiel, for she was the Evenstar of her people."

• "I have done this and that. I have written some more of my book. And, of course, I make up a few songs. They sing them occasionally: just to please me, I think; for, of course, they aren't really good enough for Rivendell. And I listen and I think. Time doesn't seem to pass here: it just is. A remarkable place altogether." (Bilbo )

• "I am sorry: sorry you have come in for this burden: sorry about everything. Don't adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story." (Bilbo )

• "Mortals have not been our study. We have other business." (Lindir, an Elf of Rivendell )

The Council of Elrond

• "There is much to hear and decide today." (Gandalf )

• "You will hear today all that you need in order to understand the purposes of the Enemy. There is naught that you can do, other than to resist, with hope or without it. But you do not stand alone." (Elrond )

• "The Ring! What shall we do with the Ring, the least of rings, the trifle that Sauron fancies? That is the doom that we must deem.
  "That is the purpose for which you are called hither. Called, I say. though I have not called you to me, strangers from distant lands. You have come and are here met, in this very nick of time, by chance as it may seem. Yet it is not so. Believe rather that it is so ordered that we, who sit here, and none others, must now find counsel for the peril of the world.
  'Now, therefore, things shall be openly spoken that have been hidden from all but a few until this day. And first, so that all may understand what is the peril, the Tale of the Ring shall be told from the beginning even to this present. And I will begin that tale, though others shall end it." (Elrond )

• "Fruitless did I call the victory of the Last Alliance? Not wholly so, yet it did not achieve its end. Sauron was diminished, but not destroyed. His Ring was lost but not unmade. The Dark Tower was broken, but its foundations were not removed; for they were made with the power of the Ring, and while it remains they will endure." (Elrond )

• "The might of Elrond is in wisdom not in weapons."

• "Seek for the Sword that was broken:
  In Imladris it dwells;
  There shall be counsels taken
  Stronger than Morgul-spells.
  There shall be shown a token
  That Doom is near at hand,
  For Isildur's Bane shall waken,
  And the Halfling forth shall stand."

• "Doom and great deeds are indeed at hand. For the Sword that was Broken is the Sword of Elendil that broke beneath him when he fell. It has been treasured by his heirs when all other heirlooms were lost; for it was spoken of old among us that it should be made again when the Ring, Isildur's Bane, was found. Now you have seen the sword that you have sought, what would you ask? " (Aragorn )

• "We are hard pressed, and the Sword of Elendil would be a help beyond our hope — if such a thing could indeed return out of the shadows of the past." (Boromir )

• "'I forgive your doubt, […] Little do I resemble the figures of Elendil and Isildur as they stand carven in their majesty in the halls of Denethor. I am but the heir of Isildur, not Isildur himself. I have had a hard life and a long; and the leagues that lie between here and Gondor are a small part in the count of my journeys." (Aragorn )

• "Our days have darkened, and we have dwindled; but ever the Sword has passed to a new keeper. And this I will say to you, Boromir, ere I end. Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters — but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy; for they are found in many places, not in Mordor only." (Aragorn )

• "Many evil things there are that your strong walls and bright swords do not stay. You know little of the lands beyond your bounds. Peace and freedom, do you say? The North would have known them little but for us." (Aragorn )

• "When dark things come from the houseless hills, or creep from sunless woods, they fly from us. What roads would any dare to tread, what safety would there be in quiet lands, or in the homes of simple men at night, if the Dúnedain were asleep, or were all gone into the grave?" (Aragorn )

• "And yet less thanks have we than you. Travellers scowl at us, and countrymen give us scornful names. 'Strider' I am to one fat man who lives within a day's march of foes that would freeze his heart or lay his little town in ruin, if he were not guarded ceaselessly." (Aragorn )

• "But now the world is changing once again. A new hour comes. Isildur's Bane is found. Battle is at hand. The Sword shall be reforged." (Aragorn )

• "The Wise may have good reason to believe that the Halfling's trove is indeed the Great Ring of long debate, unlikely though that may seem to those who know less." (Galdor, an Elf at the Council)

• "These things it is the part of Gandalf to make clear; and I call upon him last, for it is the place of honour, and in all this matter he has been the chief." (Elrond )

• "I should have sought for the truth sooner, and our peril would now be less." (Gandalf )

• "'We were all at fault,' said Elrond, 'and but for your vigilance the Darkness, maybe, would already be upon us.'"

• "Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul."
  • Translation (from the language of Mordor): "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them."
  • The inscription on the One Ring (see under The Shadow of the Past).

* "He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." (Gandalf to Saruman )

• *"I was glad, for in the Riddermark of Rohan the Rohirrim, the Horse-lords dwell, and there are no horses like those that are bred in that great vale between the Misty Mountains and the White."

• "There is one among them that might have been foaled in the morning of the world. The horses of the Nine cannot vie with him; tireless, swift as the flowing wind. Shadowfax they called him. By day his coat glistens like silver; and by night it is like a shade, and he passes unseen. Light is his footfall! Never before had any man mounted him, but I took him and I tamed him." (Gandalf )

• "They drew away from me, for they felt the coming of my anger and they dared not face it while the Sun was in the sky." (Gandalf , referring to the Ringwraiths )

• "It is perilous to study too deeply the arts of the Enemy, for good or for ill. But such falls and betrayals, alas, have happened before." (Elrond , referring to Saruman )

• "I had forgotten Bombadil, if indeed this is still the same that walked the woods and hills long ago, and even then was older than the old. That was not then his name. Iarwain Ben-adar we called him, oldest and fatherless. But many another name he has since been given by other folk: Forn by the Dwarves, Orald by Northern Men, and other names beside." (Elrond )

• "The Ring has no power over him. He is his own master. But he cannot alter the Ring itself, nor break its power over others. And now he is withdrawn into a little land, within bounds that he has set, though none can see them, waiting perhaps for a change of days, and he will not step beyond them." (Gandalf , referring to Tom Bombadil )

• "If he were given the Ring, he would soon forget it, or most likely throw it away. Such things have no hold on his mind. He would be a most unsafe guardian." (Gandalf , referring to Tom Bombadil )

• "I think that in the end, if all else is conquered, Bombadil will fall, Last as he was First; and then Night will come." (Glorfindel )

• "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. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one." (Gandalf )

• "We must take a hard road, a road unforeseen. There lies our hope, if hope it be. To walk into peril — to Mordor. We must send the Ring to the Fire." (Elrond )

• "We cannot use the Ruling Ring. That we now know too well. It belongs to Sauron and was made by him alone, and is altogether evil. Its strength, Boromir, is too great for anyone to wield at will, save only those who have already a great power of their own. But for them it holds an even deadlier peril. The very desire of it corrupts the heart." (Elrond )

• "If any of the Wise should with this Ring overthrow the Lord of Mordor, using his own arts, he would then set himself on Sauron's throne, and yet another Dark Lord would appear. And that is another reason why the Ring should be destroyed: as long as it is in the world it will be a danger even to the Wise. For nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so. I fear to take the Ring to hide it. I will not take the Ring to wield it." (Elrond )

• "Though I do not ask for aid, we need it. It would comfort us to know that others fought also with all the means that they have." (Boromir )

• "'Be comforted,' said Elrond. 'For there are other powers and realms that you know not, and they are hidden from you.'"

• "The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he ever touch them. But of them it is not permitted to speak. So much only in this hour of doubt I may now say. They are not idle. But they were not made as weapons of war or conquest: that is not their power. Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained. These things the Elves of Middle-earth have in some measure gained, though with sorrow. But all that has been wrought by those who wield the Three will turn to their undoing, and their minds and hearts will become revealed to Sauron, if he regains the One. It would be better if the Three had never been. That is his purpose." (Elrond )

• "Some hope that the Three Rings, which Sauron has never touched, would then become free, and their rulers might heal the hurts of the world that he has wrought. But maybe when the One has gone, the Three will fail, and many fair things will fade and be forgotten." (Elrond )

• "Yet all the Elves are willing to endure this chance,' said Glorfindel 'if by it the power of Sauron may be broken, and the fear of his dominion be taken away for ever."

• "Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. It is wisdom to recognize necessity, when all other courses have been weighed, though as folly it may appear to those who cling to false hope. Well, let folly be our cloak, a veil before the eyes of the Enemy! For he is very wise, and weighs all things to a nicety in the scales of his malice. But the only measure that he knows is desire, desire for power; and so he judges all hearts. Into his heart the thought will not enter that any will refuse it, that having the Ring we may seek to destroy it. If we seek this, we shall put him out of reckoning." (Gandalf )

• "The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere." (Elrond )

• "I had thought of putting: and he lived happily ever afterwards to the end of his days. It is a good ending, and none the worse for having been used before. Now I shall have to alter that: it does not look like coming true." (Bilbo )

• "'I will take the Ring,' [Frodo] said, 'though I do not know the way.'"

• "I think that this task is appointed for you, Frodo; and that if you do not find a way, no one will. This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it? Or, if they are wise, why should they expect to know it, until the hour has struck?" (Elrond )

• "'But you won't send him off alone surely, Master?' cried Sam, unable to contain himself any longer, and jumping up from the corner where he had been quietly sitting in the floor.
  'No indeed,' said Elrond, turning towards him with a smile. 'You at least shall go with him. It is hardly possible to separate you from him, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not.'"

• "'A nice pickle we have landed ourselves in, Mr. Frodo!' [Sam] said, shaking his head."

The Ring Goes South

• "' . . .we are envying Sam, not you. If you have to go, then it will be a punishment for any of us to be left behind, even in Rivendell. We have come a long way with you and been through some stiff times. We want to go on."

• "'There must be someone with intelligence in the party.'
  'Then you certainly will not be chosen.' (Gandalf and Pippin )

• "If the Ring is to set out, it must go soon. But those who go with it must not count on their errand being aided by war or force. They must pass into the domain of the Enemy far from aid."

• "The Sword-that-was-Broken shall be reforged ere I set out to war. But your road and our road lie together for many hundreds of miles." (Aragorn )

• "The Sword of Elendil was forged anew by Elvish smiths, and on its blade was traced a device of seven stars set between the crescent Moon and the rayed Sun, and about them was written many runes; for Aragorn son of Arathorn was going to war upon the marches of Mordor. Very bright was that sword when it was made whole again; the light of the sun shone redly in it, and the light of the moon shone cold, and its edge was hard and keen. And Aragorn gave it a new name and called it Andúril, Flame of the West."

• "The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On him alone is any charge laid: neither to cast away the Ring, nor to deliver it to any servant of the Enemy nor indeed to let any handle it, save members of the Company and the Council, and only then in gravest need. The others go with him as free companions, to help him on his way. You may tarry, or come back, or turn aside into other paths, as chance allows. The further you go, the less easy will it be to withdraw; yet no oath or bond is laid on you to go further than you will. For you do not yet know the strength of your hearts, and you cannot foresee what each may meet upon the road."

• "'Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens,' said Gimli.
  'Maybe,' said Elrond, 'but let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.'
  'Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart,' said Gimli.
  'Or break it,' said Elrond. 'Look not too far ahead! But go now with good hearts! Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you."

• " There are many evil and unfriendly things in the world that have little love for those that go on two legs, and yet are not in league with Sauron, but have purposes of their own. Some have been in this world longer than he."

• "'If there are any to see, then I at least am revealed to them,' he said. 'I have written Gandalf is here in signs that all can read from Rivendell to the mouths of Anduin.'" (Gandalf )

• "'The night is getting old,' said Aragorn. "The dawn is not far off.'"

A Journey in the Dark

• "However it may prove, one must tread the path that need chooses!"

• "I will not give judgement now. But I beg you two, Legolas and Gimli, at least to be friends, and to help me. I need you both. The doors are shut and hidden, and the sooner we find them the better. Night is at hand!"

• "Say "Friend"and enter."

• "To Gandalf the far-off memories of a journey long before were now of little help, but even in the gloom and despite all windings of the road he knew whither he wished to go, and he did not falter, as long as there was a path that led towards his goal."

• "Do not be afraid! I have been with him on many a journey, if never on one so dark; and there are tales of Rivendell of greater deeds of his than any that I have seen. He will not go astray-if there is any path to find. He has led us in here against our fears, but he will lead us out again, at whatever cost to himself."

• His senses were sharper and more aware of things that could not be seen. One sign of change that he soon had noticed was that he could see more in the dark than any of his companions, save perhaps Gandalf."

• "Something has been disturbed that would have been better left quiet."

The Bridge of Khazad-dûm

• "So ended the attempt to retake Moria! It was valiant but foolish. The time is not come yet. "

• "Swords are no more use here. Go!" (Gandalf at the approach of the Balrog )

• "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass." (Gandalf )

Lothlórien

• "There lie the woods of Lothlórien! ' said Legolas. `That is the fairest of all the dwellings of my people."

• "Lore wanes in Gondor, Boromir, if in the city of those who once were wise they now speak evil of Lothlórien."

• "In nothing is the power of the Dark Lord more clearly shown than in the estrangement that divides all those who still oppose him. Yet so little faith and trust do we find now in the world beyond Lothlórien, unless maybe in Rivendell, that we dare not by our own trust endanger our land. We live now upon an island amid many perils, and our hands are more often upon the bowstring than upon the harp."

• " 'The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater."

• "Frodo stood awhile still lost in wonder. It seemed to him that he had stepped through a high window that looked on a vanished world. A light was upon it for which his language had no name. All that he saw was shapely, but the shapes seemed at once clear cut, as if they had been first conceived and drawn at the uncovering of his eyes, and ancient as if they had endured for ever. He saw no colour but those he knew, gold and white and blue and green, but they were fresh and poignant, as if he had at that moment first perceived them and made for them names new and wonderful. In winter here no heart could mourn for summer or for spring. No blemish or sickness or deformity could be seen in anything that grew upon the earth. On the land of Lórien there was no stain."

• "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."

• "In this high place you may see the two powers that are opposed one to another; and ever they strive now in thought, but whereas the light perceives the very heart of the darkness, its own secret has not been discovered. Not yet."

• "Here is the heart of Elvendom on earth,' he said, 'and here my heart dwells ever, unless there be a light beyond the dark roads that we still must tread, you and I." (Aragorn )

The Mirror of Galadriel

• "On two chairs beneath the bole of the tree and canopied by a living bough there sat, side by side, Celeborn and Galadriel. They stood up to greet their guests, after the manner of Elves, even those who were accounted mighty kings. Very tall they were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord; and they were grave and beautiful. They were clad wholly in white; and the hair of the Lady was of deep gold, and the hair of the Lord Celeborn was of silver long and bright; but no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the starlight, and yet profound, the wells of deep memory."

• "Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. Those that followed him knew not his mind and cannot report his full purpose."

• "Even now there is hope left. I will not give you counsel, saying do this, or do that. For not in doing or contriving, nor in choosing between this course and another, can I avail; but only in knowing what was and is, and in part also what shall be. But this I will say to you: your Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while all the Company is true."

• "'Speak no evil of the Lady Galadriel! ' said Aragorn sternly. 'You know not what you say. There is in her and in this land no evil, unless a man bring it hither himself.'"

• "I reckon there's Elves and Elves. They're all elvish enough, but they're not all the same. Now these folk aren't wanderers or homeless, and seem a bit nearer to the likes of us: they seem to belong here, more even than Hobbits do in the Shire. Whether they've made the land, or the land's made them, it's hard to say, if you take my meaning. It's wonderfully quiet here. Nothing seems to be going on, and nobody seems to want it to. If there's any magic about, it's right down deep, where I can't lay my hands on it, in a manner of speaking."

• "It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish."

• "Many things I can command the Mirror to reveal,' [Galadriel] answered, `and to some I can show what they desire to see. But the Mirror will also show things unbidden, and those are often stranger and more profitable than things which we wish to behold. What you will see, if you leave the Mirror free to work, I cannot tell. For it shows things that were, and things that are, things that yet may be. But which it is that he sees, even the wisest cannot always tell."

• "This is what your folk would call magic. I believe; though I do not understand clearly what they mean; and they seem also to use the same word of the deceits of the Enemy. But this, if you will, is the magic of Galadriel. Did you not say that you wished to see Elf-magic?" (Galadriel )

• " Remember that the Mirror shows many things, and not all have yet come to pass. Some never come to be, unless those that behold the visions turn aside from their path to prevent them. The Mirror is dangerous as a guide of deeds." (Galadriel )

• "I do not counsel you one way or the other. I am not a counsellor. You may learn something, and whether what you see be fair or evil, that may be profitable, and yet it may not. Seeing is both good and perilous. Yet I think, Frodo, that you have courage and wisdom enough for the venture, or I would not have brought you here. Do as you will!" (Galadriel )

• "Do not be afraid! But do not think that only by singing amid the trees, nor even by the slender arrows of elven-bows, is this land of Lothlórien maintained and defended against its Enemy. I say to you, Frodo, that even as I speak to you, I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves. And he gropes ever to see me and my thought. But still the door is closed!" (Galadriel )

• "It is not permitted to speak of it, and Elrond could not do so. But it cannot be hidden from the Ring-bearer, and one who has seen the Eye. Verily it is in the land of Lórien upon the finger of Galadriel that one of the Three remains. This is Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, and I am its keeper." (Galadriel )

• "The love of the Elves for their land and their works is deeper than the deeps of the Sea, and their regret is undying and cannot ever wholly be assuaged. Yet they will cast all away rather than submit to Sauron: for they know him now." (Galadriel )

• "You are wise and fearless and fair, Lady Galadriel,' said Frodo. `I will give you the One Ring, if you ask for it. It is too great a matter for me."

• "You begin to see with a keen eye. I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired to ask what you offer. For many long years I had pondered what I might do, should the Great Ring come into my hands, and behold! it was brought within my grasp. The evil that was devised long ago works on in many ways, whether Sauron himself stands or falls." (Galadriel )

• "And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!" (Galadriel )

• "'I pass the test,' [Galadriel] said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West and remain Galadriel.'"

• "In the morning you must depart for now we have chosen, and the tides of fate are flowing." (Galadriel )

Farewell to Lórien

• "Those who no longer wish to go forward may remain here, for a while. But whether they stay or go, none can be sure of peace. For we are come now to the edge of doom."

• "He believed that the message of the dreams was a summons, and that the hour had come at last when the heir of Elendil should come forth and strive with Sauron for the mastery."
  • Aragorn's interpretations of the dreams of Faramir and Boromir, which had been reported at the Council of Elrond.

• "Frodo ate and drank little, heeding only the beauty of the Lady and her voice. [Galadriel] seemed no longer perilous or terrible, nor filled with hidden power."

• "Do not despise the lore that has come down from distant years; for oft it may chance that old wives keep in memory word of things that once were needful for the wise to know."

• "'Hear all ye Elves! ' [Galadriel] cried to those about her. `Let none say again that Dwarves are grasping and ungracious! Yet surely, Gimli son of Glóin, you desire something that I could give? Name it, I bid you! You shall not be the only guest without a gift.'"

• "None have ever made to me a request so bold and yet so courteous. And how shall I refuse, since I commanded him to speak?" (Galadriel )

• "I do not foretell, for all foretelling is now vain: on the one hand lies darkness, and on the other only hope. But if hope should not fail, then I say to you, Gimli son of Glóin, that your hands shall flow with gold, and yet over you gold shall have no dominion." (Galadriel )

• "'In this phial,' [Galadriel] said, ' is caught the light of Eärendil's star, set amid the waters of my fountain. It will shine still brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.'"

• "Then it seemed to Frodo that [Galadriel] lifted her arms in a final farewell, and far but piercing-clear on the following wind came the sound of her voice singing. But now she sang in the ancient tongue of the Elves beyond the Sea, and he did not understand the words: fair was the music, but it did not comfort him.
  Yet as is the way of Elvish words, they remained graven in his memory, and long afterwards he interpreted them, as well as he could: the language was that of Elven-song and spoke of things little known on Middle-earth.

Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen,		'Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind,
yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron!		long years numberless as the wings of trees!
Yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier		The years have passed like swift draughts
mi oromardi lisse-miruvóreva		of the sweet mead in lofty halls
Andúnë pella, Vardo tellumar		beyond the West, beneath the blue vaults of Varda
nu luini yassen tintilar i eleni		wherein the stars tremble
ómaryo airetári-lírinen.		in the song of her voice, holy and queenly.
Sí man i yulma nin enquantuva?		Who now shall refill the cup for me?
An sí Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo		For now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the Stars,
ve fanyar máryat Elentári ortanë,		from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds,
ar ilyë tier undulávë lumbulë;		and all paths are drowned deep in shadow;
ar sindanóriello caita mornië		and out of a grey country darkness lies
i falmalinnar imbë met, ar hísië		on the foaming waves between us,
untúpa Calaciryo míri oialë.		and mist covers the jewels of Calacirya for ever.
Sí vanwa ná, Rómello vanwa, Valimar!		Now lost, lost to those from the East is Valimar!
Namárië! Nai hurivalyë Valimar.		Farewell! Maybe thou shalt find Valimar.
Nai elyë hiruva. Namárië!		Maybe even thou shalt find it. Farewell!'

• "Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror, be it clear as Kheled-zâram. Or so says the heart of Gimli the Dwarf. Elves may see things otherwise. Indeed I have heard that for them memory is more like to the waking world than to a dream. Not so for Dwarves."

The Great River

• "Time does not tarry ever,' he said; `but change and growth is not in all things and places alike. For the Elves the world moves, and it moves both very swift and very slow. Swift, because they themselves change little, and all else fleets by: it is a grief to them. Slow, because they do not count the running years, not for themselves."

• "Rich are the hours, though short they seem, in Caras Galadhon, where Galadriel wields the Elven-ring."

The Breaking of the Fellowship

• "Aragorn called the Company together. 'The day has come at last,' he said: 'the day of choice which we have long delayed.'"

• "He is the Bearer, and the fate of the Burden is on him. I do not think that it is our part to drive him one way or the other. Nor do I think that we should succeed, if we tried. There are other powers at work far stronger."

• "It is no good trying to escape you. But I'm glad, Sam. I cannot tell you how glad. Come along! It is plain that we were meant to go together. We will go, and may the others find a safe road! Strider will look after them. I don't suppose we shall see them again."

See also

• The Lord of the Rings - Part 2 The Two Towers - Part 3 The Return of the King
• The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy
• The Silmarillion
• The Hobbit

External links

• HarperCollins: UK & Worldwide Publishers
• Houghton Mifflin: US Publisher
• Official Site of the Movie Trilogy
• Movie Trailer for "Fellowship of the Ring"

The first volume of Tolkien's greatly acclaimed epic was first published July 29, 1954, the second on November 11 of the same year, and the final volume on October 20, 1955. They have inspired generations of readers ever since, and millions of new admirers are growing acquainted with the story because of the very popular motion picture adaptations directed by Peter Jackson.
These selections of quotations are designed to give but a taste of the what many hail as the magnificence of the tale, and some of the striking language employed within it.
Like many great books it is a work that many read many times for the beauty of its language and its themes, and these quotations are intended to provide a rich sampling as to why, without providing too extensive an indication of the plot of the story itself — and also to provide those who have read it with a collection of small reminders of what makes it so memorable. Like all the greatest literature it is full of both triumphs and tragedies, with complex connections and associations that do not always become apparent on the first reading, nor even with many readings thereafter. To emphasize the fair use nature of these quotations this footnote and links to the official publishers of the books occur on all the pages for quotations from The Lord of the Rings.