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Of course, it is likely enough, my friends,' he said slowly, 'likely enough that we are going to our doom: the last march of the Ents. But if we stayed home and did nothing, doom would find us anyway, sooner or later. That thought has long been growing in our hearts; and that is why we are marching now. It was not a hasty resolve. Now at least the last march of the Ents may be worth a song.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.
J. R. R. Tolkien
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Perilous to us all are the devices of an art deeper than we possess ourselves.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
Venice seemed incredibly lovely, elvishly lovely--to me like a dream of Old Gondor, or Pelargir of the Numenorean Ships, before the return of the Shadow.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
But to Sam the evening deepened to darkness as he stood at the Haven; and as he looked at the grey sea he saw only a shadow in the waters that was soon lost in the West. There 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 them sank deep into his heart.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror, be it clear as Kheled-zaram. Or so says the heart of Gimli the Dwarf.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
Mind your P's and Q's.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
Where there are so many, all speech becomes a debate without end. But two together may perhaps find wisdom.
J. R. R. Tolkien
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It simply isn't an adventure worth telling if there aren't any dragons.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
There was a deep silence, only scraped on its surfaces by the faint quiver of empty seed-plumes, and broken grass-blades trembling in small air-movements they could not feel. 'Not a bird!' said Sam mournfully. 'No, no birds,' said Gollum. 'Nice birds!' He licked his teeth. 'No birds here. There are snakeses, wormses, things in the pools. Lots of things, lots of nasty things. No birds,' he ended sadly. Sam looked at him with distaste.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
Little by little, one travels far.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
Things are drawing towards the end now, unless I am mistaken. There is an unpleasant time just in front of you; but keep your heart up!
J. R. R. Tolkien -
Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?
J. R. R. Tolkien
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Lazy Lob and crazy Cob are weaving webs to wind me. I am far more sweet than other meat, but still they cannot find me! Here am I, naughty little fly; you are fat and lazy. You cannot trap me, though you try, in your cobwebs crazy.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
Some sang too that Thror and Thrain would come back one day and gold would flow in rivers, through the mountain-gates, and all that land would be filled with new song and new laughter. But this pleasant legend did not much affect their daily business.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
The eyes were hollow and the carven head was broken, but about the high, stern forehead there was a coronal of silver and gold. A trailing plant with flowers like white stars had bound itself across the brows as if in reverence for the fallen king, and in the crevices of his stony hair yellow stonecrop gleamed. "They cannot conquer for ever!" said Frodo.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
O! Where are you going With beards all a-wagging? No knowing, no knowing What brings Mister Baggins, And Balin and Dwalin down into the valley in June ha! ha!
J. R. R. Tolkien -
It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.
J. R. R. Tolkien
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For you do not yet know the strengths of your hearts, and you cannot foresee what each may meet on the road.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament....There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth, and more than that: death: by the divine paradox, that which ends life, and demands the surrender of all, and yet by the taste (or foretaste) of which alone can what you seek in your earthly relationships (love, faithfulness, joy) be maintained, or take on that complexion of reality, of eternal endurance, that every man's heart desires.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
If you do not believe in a personal God, the question: 'What is the purpose of life?' is unaskable and unanswerable.
J. R. R. Tolkien -
The doom lies in yourself, not in your name.
J. R. R. Tolkien