Quotes from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone. I choose a mortal life.

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.

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.

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.

It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.

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 to us.

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.

Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens

Hobbits really are amazing creatures. You can learn all there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you.

And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

Advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill.

It is not possible in a long tale to please everybody at all points, nor to displease everybody at the same points.

"I have looked the last on that which was fairest," he said to Legolas his companion. "Henceforth I will call nothing fair unless it be her gift."

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.

A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.

The 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 the Company is true.

For the time would soon come when Hobbits would shape the fortunes of all.

The Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever, but the hearts of men are easily corrupted.

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!

You are a Ring-bearer, Frodo. To bear a Ring of Power is to be alone.

I give you the light of Eärendil, our most beloved star. May it be a light for you in dark places, when all other lights go out.

Such is of 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.

The Ring cannot be destroyed by any craft that we here possess. The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came.

Sam: "Hey. Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me!"
Elrond: "No, indeed. It is hardly possible to separate you, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not."

Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.

Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall.

Nine companions. So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!

And yet, to have come so far, still bearing the Ring, the Hobbit has shown extraordinary resilience to its evil.

I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.

Let them come! There is one Dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath.

I’m wasted on cross-country. We dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances.

Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?

Elrond raised his eyes and looked at him, and Frodo felt his heart pierced by the sudden keenness of the glance. "If I understand aright all that I have heard," he said, "I think that this task is appointed for you, Frodo; and that if you do not find a way, no one will."

If anyone was to ask for my opinion, which I note they’re not, I’d say we were taking the long way around.

Isildur kept the Ring. It should have ended that day, but evil was allowed to endure. There’s no strength left in the world of Men. They’re scattered, divided, leaderless.

Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall.

The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.

Frodo: "But I am going to Mordor."
Sam: "I know that well enough, Mr. Frodo. Of course you are. And I'm coming with you."

Galadriel : "For you, Samwise Gamgee, Elven rope, made of hithline."
Sam: "Thank You M'Lady. Have you ran out of those nice shiny daggers?"

"And what do you wish?", he said at last.
"That what should be shall be", she answered.

The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it. It began with the forging of the Great Rings. Three were given to the Elves, immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven to the Dwarf lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who, above all else, desire power. But they were, all of them, deceived, for another ring was made. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a Master Ring, to control all others. And into this ring he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life. One Ring to rule them all!

It all began with the forging of the Great Rings. Three were given to the Elves; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven, to the Dwarf Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else desire power. For within these rings was bound the strength and the will to govern over each race. But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret, a master ring, to control all others. And into this ring he poured all his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life. One ring to rule them all. One by one, the free peoples of Middle Earth fell to the power of the Ring. But there were some who resisted. A last alliance of men and elves marched against the armies of Mordor, and on the very slopes of Mount Doom, they fought for the freedom of Middle-Earth. Victory was near, but the power of the ring could not be undone. It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Isildur, son of the king, took up his father's sword. And Sauron, enemy of the free peoples of Middle-Earth, was defeated. The Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever, but the hearts of men are easily corrupted. And the ring of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Isildur, to his death. And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, the ring ensnared a new bearer. The ring came to the creature Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels under the Misty Mountains, and there it consumed him. The ring gave to Gollum unnatural long life. For five hundred years it poisoned his mind; and in the gloom of Gollum's cave, it waited. Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the East, whispers of a nameless fear, and the Ring of Power perceived. Its time had now come. It abandoned Gollum. But then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable. A Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire. For the time will soon come when Hobbits will shape the fortunes of all...

I am old, Gandalf. I don't look it, but I am beginning to feel it in my heart of hearts. Well-preserved indeed! Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread. That can't be right. I need a change, or something.

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

Gimli: "I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox."
Haldir: "The dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark."

Soon, Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves. Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone.

Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!

You need people of intelligence on this sort of... mission. Quest. Thing.

May they find peace after death.
[Hiro hyn hîdh ab 'wanath.]