LOTR Quotes: 1.ONE.I-III #LOTRQs
Step 7: 08/02/2022
The idea of writing down fragments out of LOTR as my J/journey* progressed only came to me when I was into chapter III (of book ONE of part 1).
This blog post will capture all the quotes of that spoke to me in the context of my Journey.
(It's a good time to do this since I'm just about to start a new chapter (IV.) in the book as well as in my Journey after a weekend+2 out of it. A recap will jolt my memory and allow me to pick up, as if continuously, where I left of.) #NewChapter
The next posts will contain the impactful quotes of per reading session.
I.
34M: 'But I sat it now. And why not? Even if Gollum said the same once. It's not his now, but mine. And I shall keep it, I say.' Gandalf stood up. He spoke sternly. 'You will be a fool if you do, Bilbo,' he said. 'You make that clearer with every word you say. It has got far too much hold on you. Let it go! And the you can go yourself and be free.' 'Ill do as I choose and go as I please,' said Bilbo obstinately. 'Now, now, my dear hobbit!' said Gandalf. 'All your long life we have been friends, and you owe me something. Come! Do as you promised: give it up!' #promise
36M: 'But the time has come. I am being swept off my feet at last,' he added, and then in a low voice, as if to himself, he sang softly in the dark:
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 join some larger way Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say.' #natureOf #journeying
II.
48T: 'You say the ring is dangerous, far more dangerous than I guess. In what way?' 'In many ways,' answered the wizard. '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. #potencyOf #thisEvil 'In Eregion long ago many Elven-rings were made, magic rings as you call them, and they were, of course, of various kinds: some more potent and some less. The lesser rings were only essays in the crate before it was full-grown, and to the Elven-smiths they were but trifles – yet still to my mind dangerous for mortals. But the Great Rings, the Rings of Power, they were perilous. 'A mortal, Frodo, who keeps one of the Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness. And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades: he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under the eye of the Dark Power that rules the Rings. Yes, sooner or later – later, if he is strong or well-meaning to begin with, but neither strength nor good purpose will last sooner or later the Dark Power will devour him.' #fading #reinforcingPatterns #newReality
48B: 'He said that it was “growing on his mind”, and he was always worrying about it; but he did not suspect that the ring itself was to blame. Though he had found out that the thing needed looking after; it did not seem always of the same size or weight; it shrank or expanded in an odd way, and might suddenly slip off a finger where it had been tight.' 'Yes, he warned me of that in his last letter,' said Frodo, 'so I have always kept it on its chain.' #worrying #slip #chain
48B-49T: 'But as for his long life, Bilbo never connected it with the ring at all. He took all the credit for that to himself and he was very proud of it. Though he was getting restless and uneasy. Thin and stretched he said. a sign that the ring was getting control. #restless #uneasy #control
50T: 'He felt better at once,' said Gandalf. 'But there is only one Power in this world that knows all about the Rings and their effects; and as far as I know there is no Power in the world that knows all about hobbits. Among the Wise I am the only one that goes in for hobbit-lore: an obscure branch of knowledge, but full of surprises. Soft as butter they can be, and yet sometimes as tough as old tree-roots. I think it likely that some would resist the Rings far longer than most of the Wise would believe. I don't think you need worry about Bilbo. #beConsiderateOf #allPeople #littlePeople 'Of course, he possessed the ring for many years, and used it, so it might take a long while for the influence to wear off – before it was safe for him to see it again, for instance. Otherwise, he might live on for years, quite happily: just stop as he was when he parted with it. For he gave it up in the end of his own accord: an important point. No, I was not troubled about dear Bilbo any more, once he had let the thing go. It is for you that I feel responsible. #liberation #isPossible
51M: 'I cannot read the fiery letters,' said Frodo in a quavering voice. 'No,' said Gandalf, 'but I can. The letters are Elvish, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Mordor, which I will not utter here. But this in the Common Tongue is what is said, close enough:
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
It is only two lines of a verse long known in Elven-lore: 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.' #universal #reach
52B: '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. Bu that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.' #in|out #control
53T: 'Nine he gave to Mortal Men, proud and great, and so ensnared them. Long ago they fell under the dominion of the One, and they became Ringwraiths, shadows under his great Shadow, his most terrible servants.' #weakness #becomes #inescapble #trap #lacking #self-knowledge
53M: 'Why, why wasn't it destroyed?' cried Frodo. ... 'It was taken from him,' said Gandalf. 'The strength of the Elves to resist him was greater long ago; and not all Men were estranged from them. The Men of Westernesse came to their aid. That is a chapter of ancient history which it might be good to recall; for there was sorrow then too, and gathering dark, but great valour, and great deeds that were not wholly vain. One day, perhaps, I will tell you all the tale, or you shall hear it told in full by one who knows it best.' #trueCooperation
56M: 'Only too true, I fear,' said Gandalf. 'But there was something else in it, I think, which you don't see yet. Even Gollum was not wholly ruined. He had proved tougher than even one of the Wise would have guessed – as a hobbit might. There was a little corner of his mind that was still his own, and light came through it, as through a chink in the dark light out of the past. It was actually pleasant, I think, to hear a kindly voice again, bringing up memories of wind, and trees, and sun on the grass and such forgotten things.' #kindness
'But that, of course, would only make the evil part of him angrier in the end – unless it could be conquered. Unless it could be cured.' Gandalf sighed. 'Alas! there is little hope of that for him. Yet not no hope. No, not though he possessed the Ring so long, almost as far back as he can remember. For it was long since he had worn it much: in the black darkness it was seldom needed. Certainly he had never “faded”. He is thin and tough still. But the thing was eating up his mind, of course, and the torment had become almost unbearable.' #lashOut #cure
56B: 'All the “great secrets” under the mountains had turned out to be just empty night: there was nothing more to find out, nothing worth doing only nasty furtive eating and resentful remembering. He was altogether wretched. He hated the dark, and he hated light more: he hated everything, and the Ring most of all.' #hollowPursuits
'What do you mean?' said Frodo. 'Surely the Ring was his Precious and the only thing he cared for? But if he hated it, why didn't he get rid of it, or go away and leave it?'
57T: 'You ought to begin to understand, Frodo, after all you have heard,' said Gandalf. 'He hated it and loved it, as he hated and loved himself. He could not get rid of it. He had no will left in the matter. #dominated #consumed #possessed
57T: 'A Ring of Power looks after itself, Frodo. It may slip off treacherously, but its keeper never abandons it. At most he plays with the idea of handing it on to someone else's care – and that only at an early stage, when it first begins to grip. But as far as I know Bilbo alone in history has ever gone beyond playing, and really done it. He needed all my help, too. And even so he would never have just forsaken it, or cast it aside. It was not Gollum, Frodo, but the Ring itself that decided things. The Ring left him.' #toShed #theGrip #resilience #liberation
57M: 'There was more than one power at work, Frodo. The Ring was trying to get back to its master. ... 'Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you were also meant to have it. And that may be an encouraging thought.' #balancingPowers (Eru?)
61T: 'Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: ... 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.' #empathy
62T: As long as you never used it, I did not think that the Ring would have any lasting effect on you, not for evil, not at any rate for a very long time.' #doNotIndulge
62B: 'There is only one way: to find the Cracks of Doom in the depths of Orodruin, the Fire-mountain, and cast the Ring in there, if you really wish to destroy it, to put it beyond the grasp of the Enemy for ever.' #endVision
63M: 'And now,' said the wizard, turning back to Frodo, 'the decision lies with you. But I will always help you.' He laid his hand on Frodo's shoulder. 'I will help you bear this burden, as long as it is yours to bear. But we must do something, soon. The Enemy is moving.' #decision #share #burden
63B: 'Well!' said Gandalf at last. 'What are you thinking about? Have you decided what to do?' 'No!' answered Frodo, coming back to himself out of darkness, and finding to his surprise that it was not dark, and that out of the window he could see the sunlit garden. 'Or perhaps, yes. As far is I understand what you have said, I suppose I must keep the Ring and guard it, at least for the present, whatever it may do to me.' 'Whatever it may do, it will be slow, slow to evil, if you keep it with that purpose,' said Gandalf. #goodIntentions
64T: 'I hope so,' said Frodo. 'But I hope that you may find some other better keeper soon. But in the meanwhile it seems that I am a danger, a danger to all that live near me. I cannot keep the Ring and stay here. I ought to leave Bag End, leave the Shire, leave everything and go away.' He sighed.
'I should like to save the Shire, if I could – ... 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. #considerate #ofOthers 'Of course, I have sometimes thought of going away, but I imagined that as a kind of holiday, a series of adventures like Bilbo's or better, ending in peace. But this would mean exile, a flight from danger into danger, drawing it after me. And I suppose I must go alone, if I am to do that and save the Shire. But I feel very small, and very uprooted, and well – desperate. The Enemy is so strong and terrible.' #overwhelmed
He did not tell Gandalf, but as he was speaking a great desire to follow Bilbo flamed up in his heart – to follow Bilbo, and even perhaps to find him again. It was so strong that it overcame his fear: he could almost have run out there and then down the road without his hat, as Bilbo had done on a similar morning long ago. #aFire #inTheDark
64M: 'My dear Frodo!' exclaimed Gandalf. 'Hobbits really are amazing creatures, as I have said before. You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you at a pinch. I hardly expected to get such an answer, not even from you. But Bilbo made no mistake in choosing his heir, though he little thought how important it would prove.' #surprising #creatures
'I am afraid that you are right.' ... 'But I don't think you need go alone. Not if you know of anybody that you can trust, and who would be willing to go by your side – and that you would be willing to take into unknown perils.'
66T: Sam fell on his knees, trembling. 'Get up, Sam!' said Gandalf. 'I have thought of something better than that. Something to shut your mouth and punish you properly for listening. You shall go away with Mr. Frodo!' 'Me, sir!' cried Sam, springing up like a dog invited for a walk. 'Me go and see Elves and all! Hooray!' he shouted, and then burst into tears. #excited
III.
67B: 'As for where I am goin,' said Frodo, 'it would be difficult to give that away, for I have no clear idea myself, yet.'
68T: 'I have been so taken up with the thoughts of leaving Bag End, and of saying farewell, tat I have never even considered the direction,' said Frodo. 'For where am I to go? And by what shall I steer? What is to be my quest? Bilbo went to find a treasure, there and back again; but I go to lose one, and not return, as far as I can see.' #doubt
68T: 'But you cannot see very far,' said Gandalf. 'Neither can I. It may be your task to find the Cracks of Doom; but that quest may be for other: I do not know. At any rate you are not ready for that long road yet.' 'No indeed! said Frodo. 'But in the meantime what course am I to take?' 'Towards danger; but not too rashly, nor too straight,' answered the wizard. 'If you want my advice, make for Rivendell. That journey should not prove too perilous, though the Road is less easy than it was, and it will grow worse as the year fails.' #venture #withIntent #butNoPreciseDirection
72B: 'He's been slack lately, and he'll feel the weight less when he's walked off some of his own.' #body #adapts
75B: Sam stood by him. His round eyes were wide open – for he was looking across lands he had never seen to a new horizon. 'Do Elves live in those woods?' he asked. 'Not that I ever heard,' said Pippin. Frodo was silent. He too was gazing eastward along the road, as if he had never seen it before. #explore #inAwe Suddenly he spoke, aloud but as if to himself, saying slowly:
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 weary feet, Until it joins some larger way, Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say.
76T: 'That sounds like a bit of old Bilbo's rhyming,' said Pippin. 'Or is it one of your imitations? It does not sound altogether encouraging.' 'I don't know,' said Frodo. 'It came to me then, as if I was making it up; but I may have heard it long ago. Certainly it reminds me very much of Bilbo in the last years, before he went away. He used often to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: its springs were at ever doorstep, and every path was its tributary. “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to. Do you realize that this is the very path that goes through Mirkwood, and that if you let it, it might take you to the Lonely Mountain or even further and to worse places?” He used to say that on the path outside the front door at Bag End, especially after he had been out for a long walk.' #only #oneRoad
76M: 'Well, the Road won't sweep me anywhere for an hour at least,' said Pippin, unslinging his pack. The other followed his example, putting their packs against the bank and their legs out into the road. After a rest they had a good lunch, and then more rest.' #lighthearted
83M: At length Gildor turned to the hobbits. 'We shall not speak of this here,' he said. 'We think you had best come now with us. It is not our custom, but for this time we will take you on our road, and you shall lodge with us tonight, if you will.' 'O Fair Folk! This is good fortune beyond my hope,' said Pippin. Sam was speechless. 'I thank you indeed, Gildor Inglorion,' said Frodo bowing. 'Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo, a star shines on the hour of our meeting,' he added in the High-elven speech. 'Be careful, friends!' cried Gildor laughing. 'Speak no secrets! Here is a scholar in the Ancient Tongue. Bilbo was a good master. Hail, Elf-friend!' he said, bowing to Frodo. 'Come now with your friends and join our company!' #joyous #company
85T: Frodo sat, eating, drinking, and talking with delight; but his mind was chiefly on the words spoken. He knew a little of the elf-speech and listened eagerly. Now and again he spoke to those that served him and thanked them in their own language. They smiled at him and said laughing: 'Here is a jewel among hobbits!' #thoughtful #gesture #reciprocity
85B: 'You do not ask me or tell me much that concerns yourself, Frodo,' said Gildor. 'But I already know a little, and I can read more in your face and in the thought behind your questions. You are leaving the Shire, and yet you doubt that you will find what you seek, or accomplish what you intend, or that you will ever return. Is not that so?' #doubt #seek #accomplish
86T: 'Then I think it is not for me to say more – lest terror should keep you from your journey. For it seems to me that you have set out only just in time, if indeed you are in time. You must now make haste, and neither stay nor turn back; for the Shire is no longer any protection to you.' #go
86B: Gildor as silent for a moment. 'I do not like this news,' he said at last. 'That Gandalf should be late, does not bode well. But it is said: Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger. The choice is yours: to go or wait.' 'And it is also said,' answered Frodo: 'Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.' 'Is it indeed?' laughed 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. But what would you? You have not told me all concerning yourself; and how then shall I choose better than you? #advice #dangerous #gift
But if you demand advice, I will for friendship's sake give it. I think you should now go at once, without delay; and if Gandalf does not come fore you set out, then I also advise this: do not go alone. Take such friends as are trusty and willing. Now your should be grateful, for I do not give this counsel gladly. 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.' #meeting #byChance #byPurpose
87B: 'But where shall I find courage?' asked Frodo. 'That is what I chiefly need.' 'courage is found in unlikely places,' said Gildor. 'Be of good hope! Sleep now! In the morning we shall have gone; but we will send our messages through the lands. The Wandering Companies shall know of your journey, and those that have power for good shall be on the watch. 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.' #courage #hope #strangers #friends
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*journey as in: The reading journey through the book. *Journey as in: The overarching journey of which the reading is a part.
Number + suffix in front of the Quotes => Page number + page indication (T(op) | M(id) | B(ottom)