Quotes from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Page 2)

It is a gift. A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this ring? Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him.

The year is 3434 of the Second Age. Here follows the account of Isildur, High King of Gondor, and the finding of the ring of power. It has come to me. The One Ring. It shall be an heirloom of my kingdom. All those who follow in my bloodline shall be bound to its fate, for I will risk no hurt to the ring. It is precious to me though I buy it with great pain. The markings upon the band begin to fade. The writing, which at first was as clear as red flame has all but disappeared. A secret now that only fire can tell.

But 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.

Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king.

We long have feared that under Caradhras a terror slept. But had I known that the Dwarves had stirred up this evil in Moria again, I would have forbidden you to pass the northern borders, you and all that went with you. And if it were possible, one would say that at the last Gandalf fell from wisdom into folly, going needlessly into the net of Moria.

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.

The mirror shows many things. Things that were, things that are, and some things that have not yet come to pass.

You offer it to me freely. I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired this. In place of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Treacherous as the sea! Stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me and despair.

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.

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."

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

Gandalf: "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear."
Aragorn: "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword."
Legolas: "And you have my bow."
GImli: "And my axe."
Boromir: "You carry the fates of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the council then Gondor will see it done."
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."
Merry: "Hey. We're coming too! You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us."

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.

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.

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.

Men are weak. The race of men is failing. The blood of Númenor is all but spent, its pride and dignity forgotten. It is because of men the Ring survives.

Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall.

I've thought up an ending for my book. "And he lived happily ever after to the end of his days."

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?"

Let him go! Or I'll have you, longshanks.

"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!

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 want to see mountains again. Mountains, Gandalf! And then find somewhere quiet where I can finish my book.

I gave you the chance of aiding me willingly. But you have elected the way of pain!

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

You cannot wield it. None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master.

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.

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

Why do you fear the past? You are Isildur's heir not Isildur himself. You are not bound to his fate.

The Shadow does not hold sway yet. Not over you... not over me.

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

You have only one choice. The Ring must be destroyed.

The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, 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.

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

"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."

I will take it. I will take the ring to Mordor. Though... I do not know the way.

Few can see wither their road will lead them, till they comes to it's end.

I will be dead before I see the ring in the hands of an elf!