Proverbs of Middle Earth

On the Rohirrim

In these times the unbidden stranger finds us swift and hard.
EOMER

It is important to notice that, while Men, the people of Rohan are not the same as the Numenoreans; neither the distant Rangers of Arnor, nor their allies in Gondor.  They are strongly distinct.

A younger nation of different ethnic stock; a simpler culture, less 'high' and learned; and an impetuous and warlike national character.  They throw the Men of the West into striking contrast - the Eorlingas are the fledgling Norse to Gondor's decadent, dimished Greece or Rome.

We first meet the Rohirrim, fittingly, galloping across the Eastemnet down the trail of the Orcs they have just destroyed; brave yet suspicious, long hair flailing in the wind.   Their 3rd Marshall describes his people with proverbs as unvarnished as he.

The Men of the Mark do not lie, and therefore they are not easily deceived.
EOMER

Treebeard

Do not be hasty.
TREEBEARD

The fact that Ents (apparently) have proverbs at all is perhaps surprising.  The whole purpose of a maxim is to concisely express the wisdom of years in a few short words, and this seems anathema to the Onodrim, both in terms of their slow, steady natures and their language, which rumbles and unfolds in waves, taking a long time to say anything.

Maybe they have only appropriated the words of others - particularly of the Elves, one might surmise - but even then, it is a strange thing to find Treebeard quoting obviously 'Entish' proverbs in the Common Speech, in which language they appear at home but surely could not have been birthed.

It is easier to shout stop! than to do it.
TREEBEARD

It may be that to the Ents, no spoken language is truly their mother tongue; that the organic acts of living and growing are their 'first language', originating in the days before the Elves taught them to speak.  In that way, all other tongues, including their own, are merely means of outward expression; a translation tool, used to reflect their inner speech when outsiders find their way into Fangorn.

Sheep get like shepherd, and shepherds like sheep.
TREEBEARD

Songs like trees bear fruit only in their own time and their own way:
and sometimes they are withered untimely.
TREEBEARD

Dreams and Legends

These are indeed strange days…
Dreams and legends spring to life out of the grass.
EOMER

The Rohirrim are primarily a practical race, highly esteeming horses and courage, but relatively little else.  As with many young nations, their grasp of history or culture (beyond their own) is weak, leaving them 'wise but unlearned, writing no books but singing many songs'.  They fear Lothlorien, and do not walk in Fangorn, despite their proximity to these great stores of wisdom and experience.

 

So when the heir of the lost kings stands up out of the grassy plain, accompanied by an Elf and a Dwarf, it takes great strength of character from Eomer not to take them as prisoners, fanciful and questionable as their explanations are.

Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight?
EOTHAIN

A man may do both,
for not we but those who come after will make the legends of our time.
ARAGORN

It is to Eomer's great credit that the good choice he makes is neither in line with his orders nor his people's natural skepticism of the unknown.  We see him wrestle with the decision, then be imprisoned for it, then finally be justified.

The world is all grown strange …
How shall a man judge what to do in such times?
EOMER

Aragorn, not Strider

With the great chase across the Wold of Rohan behind him, and Minas Tirith growing ever nearer ahead, Aragorn grows both in confidence and in stature, at last allowing himself to be more than a Ranger.

He declares himself openly by name and lineage, stands forth as a leader amongst strangers, and speaks with ever-increasing authority.

Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear;
nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men.
It is a man’s part to discern them.
ARAGORN
 

On the White

 

 
Gandalf's resurrection and reappearance, 'at the turn of the tide', is both a comforting return to the familiar and a step forward into the new.

Gandalf is still the 'learned lore-master' of old, quoting and inventing proverbs as he goes, but he is no longer Gandalf the Grey: he is Gandalf the White; the head of the Istari, the cornerstone of the White Council, and mover of great deeds in the resistance against Sauron.

All friends should gather together, lest each be singly destroyed.
GANDALF

He that strikes the first blow, if he strikes it hard enough,
may need to strike no more.
GANDALF

 A treacherous weapon is ever a danger to the hand.
GANDALF

Put all the rats in one trap.
GANDALF [reported by MERRY]

Where before he was limited to the role of counsellor and doer of lone deeds, Gandalf is now increasingly authoritative, taking command of others and impatient at their intransigence.   He knows that time is short and that while they deliberate, the fates of many hang by a thread.

Hope is not victory.
GANDALF

 

On Justice and Mercy

Gollum is trapped.  Having pursued the company (or more specifically, the Ring) for over a month, through Moria to Lorien, down through Wilderland to Parth Galen, he finally catches up with Frodo and Sam as they struggle to escape the Emyn Muil.

He is at their mercy, and Sam in particular, does not feel merciful.  In many ways, it would be just to kill Gollum - as Faramir later asserts, he has done murder, and means to again - but at that moment the counsel of Gandalf returns, unbidden, to Frodo's mind.

Many that live deserve death.  And some that die deserve life ...
Be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice ...
Even the wise cannot see all ends.
GANDALF in FRODO's mind

At the Doors of the Golden Hall

 

 Seldom does thief ride home to the stable.
ARAGORN

The role of Hama, the Door-ward of Theoden, is one of high honour and responsibility in the Mark, akin to a personal bodyguard.  It is his purpose to be both welcoming and suspicious of visitors, to divine the motives and trustworthiness of strangers before they become a more direct aid or threat to his king.

A king will have his way in his own hall, be it folly or wisdom.
GANDALF

 

The exchange of words between Hama and the four travellers is expressive of the similarities and differences between the races of Middle Earth.  Suspicion is high, offence is caused, but common ground and wisdom are nevertheless sought.  Hama is both strict (in forbidding Aragorn to bear Anduril) and lenient (in permitting Gandalf's staff), and justifies his choices with proverbs.

Every man has something too dear to trust to another.
ARAGORN

The staff in the hand of a wizard may be more than a prop for age...
Yet in doubt a man of worth will trust to his own wisdom.
HAMA

Wisdom with a Forked Tongue

  News from afar is seldom sooth.
THEODEN

Ill news is an ill guest.
GRIMA

Gandalf receives no welcome at all when he re-enters Meduseld.  He stands before King Theoden perceived to be a meddler, trouble-maker, and bearer of woes.  Such has been the success of Grima Wormtongue.

A name like Wormtongue cannot have been accorded without cause, and it is clear that Grima's place at the King's side (and in his ear) is no stroke of luck on his part.  He is clever, quick-witted, and far-seeing, and is one of the few examples of a character able to smear the reputation of the Wise by using their own weapons.

His sly proverbs of lore are directed at Gandalf and Galadriel, the greatest threats to Saruman's authority over the White Council and the most immediate aid available to Rohan, and it is some compliment to Wormtongue's abilities that Gandalf does not even attempt to argue with him.

Webs of deceit were ever woven in Dwimordene.
GRIMA

The wise speak only of what they know.
GANDALF
 
 
 

On Froward Tongue

I owe much to Eomer, said Theoden, Faithful heart may have froward tongue.

Say also, said Gandalf, that to crooked eyes truth may wear a wry face.

The Wisdom of Gollum

 

It is years - very probably centuries reaching into millennia - since Gollum was truly Smeagol and lived in community with others of his sort.  The Ring caused his estrangement from his contemporaries and drove him into isolation, into a life where It was his only joy.  And when the Precious was lost, so was he.

We are lost, lost.  No name, no business, no Precious, nothing.
Only empty.  Only hungry.
GOLLUM

 

It is a stretch to categorise anything that Gollum says as a true proverb, yet his separation from all other peoples has made him a culture apart.  In constantly, repetitiously talking to himself, little phrases of guidance have emerged; the axioms by which his dark life has been led.

More haste less speed.
GOLLUM

More difficult, not so quick; but better.
GOLLUM

Third Time

 

From the three Elven Rings to Three's Company, a triumvirate motif repeats itself throughout the history of Middle Earth.  There are the three kindreds of the Eldar, three Silmarils, and three hidden Kingdoms (of Doriath, Nargothrond and Gondolin); three houses of the Edain, three northern Kingdoms after the breakup of Arnor, and three lines of the Kings of Rohan; three Hobbit tribes, three Farthings in the Shire, and three Ages of Middle Earth.

 

On the borders of Mordor, three weary travellers also seek significance in the number, firstly when a winged Nazgul repeatedly passes overhead, then at later times when considering an extra favour to be granted along the lines of 'one good turn deserves another'.

Three times is a threat.
GOLLUM  

The third turn may turn out the best.
FRODO

Third time pays for all.
SAM

On Despair and Hope

None knows what the new day will bring him.
ARAGORN

The last host of the Eorlingas rides to Helm's Deep, and meets Ceorl of Westfold, bearing a message of woe to Eomer: turn back, there is no hope ahead.  The advance scout is similarly dispiriting.

He that flies counts every foeman twice.
SCOUT

While at first weary and in despair, the shock of meeting his king both armed for war and in doughty mood strengthens Ceorl for battle ahead.  The stronghold of Helm's Deep, ever unconquered while men defend it, adds to that renewed sense of belief.

But the coming battle, of Saruman's irresistible force crashing against the Hornburg's immovable object, drains that hope away.  It is characteristic and fitting that Aragorn, whose cradle name Estel itself means hope, should be the last whose heart is not fallen back into despair.

Oft the unbidden guest proves the best company.
EOMER

As one who has wandered so often, so far away from his hopes and destiny, it is no surprise that proverbs of hope spring naturally from his lips, since they have doubtless nourished him for years.

Dawn is ever the hope of men.
ARAGORN

 

More Dreams and Legends

 

Sam stands up, hands behind his back, for a recitation of Oliphaunt, making Frodo laugh within sight of the Black Gate.  The equivalent today might be Jabberwocky or The Hunting of the Snark, with a legendary beast set in rhyme to stir the imagination.  Hobbits never actually believed the rhyme, or anything much else that they didn't see with their own eyes.

News from Bree and not as sure as Shiretalk.
SAM

And then Sam sees one.  He knows that no one at home will believe him.

 

Far away, in the green fields of Rohan, the King has had a similar set of experiences: firstly meeting the Holbytlan, then seeing Ents; both creatures of fairy-tale and nursery-rhyme.

Songs have come down out of strange places, and walk visible under the Sun.
THEODEN

On Treasures

Received by the de facto door-wardens of Isengard, the Three Hunters have at last found their quarry and can get on with the important business of recounting their tales and reaffirming their friendship, amidst pipe smoke.

Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall.
ARAGORN

Having given his account of their kidnapping and the crossing of Rohan, Pippin receives back his elven brooch from Aragorn, who had both found the clue and kept it safe.  In returning it, a proverb is used in passing which has great bearing on the Quest as a whole, though they little know it.

One who cannot cast away a treasure at need is in fetters.
ARAGORN

As Aragorn says of the brooch, 'it is a very precious thing,' more precious probably than anything the hobbit had ever possessed.  The parallel between Pippin casting away the precious thing in his possession, and Frodo being unable to cast away the precious Ring, because it possessed him, is striking, and emphasises the 'fetters' by which the works of Sauron enslave their holders to his will.

Mount Fang

That Gandalf gives Saruman a final chance to repent his choices and be of service in the War, after all the hurt that he had caused, shows much of Gandalf's merciful nature.  But he is not foolish; he is too well-acquainted with the deceptions of evil and the abilities of Saruman to underestimate the threat still posed.

A wild beast cornered is not safe to approach.
GANDALF

The treacherous are ever distrustful.
GANDALF

Often does hatred hurt itself.
GANDALF

The contrast between Saruman, the silk-tongued gatherer of knowledge, and Gandalf, the rough-hewn lore-master, is subtle.  Saruman is clever, but not wise; powerful, but not influential; far-seeing (especially via the palantir) but blinded by pride and greed.  In debate with Gandalf, with only the deception of his voice to hide behind, he is exposed for what he is.

Does an unarmed man come down to speak with robbers out of doors?
SARUMAN

The guest who has escaped from the roof, will think twice
before he comes back in by the door.
GANDALF

Clinging to the power of Orthanc, Saruman is left a prisoner to himself, cast from the Order but refusing to come down.

On the Affairs of Wizards

 

Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.
MERRY, quoting GILDOR as quoted by SAM

Hobbits, whilst almost perennially out of their depth once outside the Shire, are quick to learn, and especially to absorb the learning of others.

The above proverb is a great example of this.  Having heard Gildor use it in the Woody End, Sam took to repeating it, and now Merry does so, warning Pippin about the palantir.  The warning is not heeded, and their hopes nearly betrayed.

Peril comes in the night when least expected.
GANDALF

On Stumbling

Do not stumble at the end of the road.
GANDALF

 

On discovering, through Pippin, the nature and identity of the palantir, Gandalf entrusts it to Aragorn.  His warning, to the most careful of men, is not intended as a rebuke but as recognition of the grave danger the Orthanc-stone presents.

As a direct link to Barad-dur itself, it had already caused the fall of Saruman as well as contributing to his desperation and the failure of his plans.  We later see the wisdom of this warning in the case of Denethor, whom a palantir also betrayed.

Sauron's influence through the Stones, however, carries no guarantee of success for him either: stumbling is not only the preserve of the weak.

Oft evil will shall evil mar.
THEODEN

One to One with Gandalf

Let not the swift wait for the slow.
GANDALF

And with that, he is gone; Shadowfax bearing Gandalf away to Gondor with Pippin, recovering, before him.  A perfect opportunity for an inquisitive hobbit to ask questions.

This is the first time since Rivendell where a hobbit has been alone with the Wizard, and Pippin clearly enjoys the privilege, for Gandalf is in the mood to talk.

There is nothing that Sauron cannot turn to evil uses.
GANDALF

The biter bit, the hawk under the eagle's foot, the spider in a steel web!
GANDALF

 

Saruman, the palantir, and the nature of evil are the main topics at hand, and we hear Gandalf speaking, almost to himself at times, as he processes the causes, impacts and implications of recent events.

Perilous to us all are the devices of an art deeper than we possess ourselves.
GANDALF

The burned hand teaches best.
After that advice about fire goes to the heart.
GANDALF

 

The Wisdom of Gondor

Entering Ithilien, the Hobbits are for the first time in Gondor (albeit in land occupied by the Enemy).  The great Kingdom of the Dunedain of the South has been liberally referred to throughout the Quest, yet until now it has had only Boromir to represent it.  It would have been reasonable to presume him as an archetype for his people, yet with the entrance of his brother Faramir, a wiser, more thoughtful head on younger shoulders, that thought must be discarded.

Wise man trusts not to chance-meeting on the road in this land.
FARAMIR

We meet no one else, with the obvious exception of Gandalf, for whom proverbs are so natural a part of speech.  Very often they are unquoted, utilised but not emphasised, and thereby often unnoticed.

War must be,
while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all;
but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness,
nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory.
I love only that which they defend.
FARAMIR

 
We are truth-speakers, we men of Gondor.
We boast seldom, and then perform, or die in the attempt.  FARAMIR

Moreover, we receive from Faramir one of the few explicit references to the means by which learning and knowledge has been passed down amongst men of one era to another, and to him in particular:

'Much is still preserved of ancient lore among the Rulers of the city that is not spread abroad...  We in the house of Denethor know much ancient lore by long tradition, and there are moreover in our treasures many things preserved:
'Books and tablets writ on withered parchments, yea, and on stone, and on leaves of silver and of gold, in divers characters.'

Tidings of Death

Tidings of death have many wings.
FARAMIR

Night oft brings news to near kindred.
FARAMIR

Only a week has passed since Faramir, watching at night near Osgiliath, observed the passing of the funeral boat of Boromir.  He is still clearly in mourning, and questions Frodo long to discover all that he can about the Fellowship, their mission, and the death of his brother.

Surely there are many perils in the world.
FRODO

Murder will out.
FARAMIR

But although it is his right and duty to arrest the hobbits and bring them to Minas Tirith, Faramir does not leap to it.  He knows that the funeral boat was not the work of the enemy, and is content that Frodo and Sam are not either.

His works fill the heart with loathing.
FARAMIR

On Perils of Evil and Beauty

Living in the shadow of the Shadow has given Faramir experience aplenty, not least of the interaction of humility and courage when danger approaches.

There are some perils from which a man must flee.
FARAMIR

Such things [as mighty heirlooms] do not breed peace among confederates.
FARAMIR

Unlike Boromir, he is aware of his own weakness, despite neither lacking strength of body nor fortitude of character.  He is strong, but knows when his own strength is not enough.  Also, he knows that perils are often beautiful (as in the case of the Ring), and that even extreme beauty can be a danger to those for whom it is not intended.

It is perilous for mortal man
to walk out of the world of this Sun [into Lothlorien].
FARAMIR

On Strider, pt 2?

The hobbits' new acquaintance harks back to September 29th, and the last mysterious hooded, cloaked Ranger they had met.

Faramir appears as a southern counterpart to Aragorn: a wise, compassionate warrior, in whom the blood of Numenor runs true.  The parallels between the two characters' entries into the plot are striking:

 - the weather-beaten green-clad Rangers, faces obscured;
 - intent questioning of Frodo without revealing identity or purpose;
 - the immediate links to Gandalf at a time of his unforeseen absence;
 - Sam's strong suspicions while his guarded master longs to open up and find a friend;
 - the opportunity to take the Ring, and strength to wield it, overcome.

It is fitting then that the wisdom proverbs that flash into the hobbits' minds when faced with Faramir in Ithilien are virtually identical to those they spoke before Strider in the Prancing Pony.

Better mistrust undeserved than rash words.
NARRATOR [Frodo's thoughts]

Fair speech may hide a foul heart.
SAM

Handsome is as handsome does.
SAM

The parallels between Faramir and Aragorn continue, both in character and in fate, until the end: one takes the Paths of the Dead, the 'walks in the shadows' under the Black Breath; one becomes King, the other, Steward and Prince; both are loved by Eowyn; both marry outside of their kin; both live happily ever after ...

On Anonymous Valour

Although the cultures (and accompanying wisdom traditions) of Middle Earth are diverse and often at odds with one another, there are many cases of overlap and of full agreement; an encouragement when faced with difficult choices.

Deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.
ARAGORN

Follow what may, great deeds are not lessened in worth.
LEGOLAS

Advice and Parting

The hobbits leave Faramir with a wholly different perspective on the man, and perhaps on all men, than they had held the day before.  Far from inhibiting the Quest, their capture and the (unwitting) disclosure of their purpose has, in Sam's words, allowed the Captain of Gondor to show his quality: the very highest.

The praise of the praiseworthy is above all rewards.
FARAMIR

But Faramir does seek to counsel them; to persuade them from taking the road to Cirith Ungol, and especially from retaking Gollum as guide, though he is unable to offer any real alternative.  Sam would agree, but Frodo feels bound to Gollum and is not moved.  The advice is rejected and they head on to the Crossroads.

It seems less evil to counsel another man to break troth than to do so oneself,
especially if one sees a friend bound unwitting to his own harm.
FARAMIR

The servant has a claim on the master for service, even service in fear.
NARRATOR [reporting Frodo's thoughts]

They can only come to morning through the shadows.
NARRATOR

On Haste

It is not only Treebeard who abjures unnecessary speediness.  His absence of haste is a necessary facet of the long, slow life of the Ents, as they remain in rhythm with the things for which they have responsibility.  Other races have more practical reasons to warn against it.

The hasty stroke goes oft astray.
ARAGORN

For all the days of his wandering life, Aragorn has been a study of patience; aware of his goals and high destiny from an early age, yet unable to do more than slowly plod in their direction.

 

A hasty act on his part could have been injurious to all, and yet, when the time comes (eg. having seen the pressing need of Gondor in the palantir), he is not slow to respond.  He has learned when to act and when to wait.

The Eldar, for their part, have a completely different relationship to the passing of time, and Legolas' reference to wonder is telling; warning against the disenchantment of purely practical activity and urgency.  Finding rest in memory rather than sleep, Elves are Middle Earth's contemplatives, drinking in the world around them, and shaping it slowly and humbly.

Do not spoil the wonder with haste.
LEGOLAS

A Halfling in the Tower of the Sun

  As for valour, that cannot be computed by stature.
GANDALF

Many a doer of great deeds might say no more.
INGOLD

Gandalf is well-known in Minas Tirith, and held in more honour than in many places, but Pippin is a stranger and his whole race alien to the men of Gondor.

Even in allowing him to pass the Rammas, the guards do not seek to disguise their wonder and intrigue at this curio, and once in the streets of the city, many call out to or about the ernil i pheriannath.

Looks may belie the man - or the halfling.
DENETHOR

In offering his sword and service to Denethor, Pippin both pleases the Lord Steward and humours him, whilst additionally gaining access to the most private areas of the Citadel.  He is in way over his head, but is wise enough to know it, and Gandalf validates his decision.

Generous deed should not be checked by cold counsel.
GANDALF

In Grief

The mightiest man may be slain by one arrow.
PIPPIN

Denethor is in heartbroken mourning.  On a 'wild errand', his beloved Boromir was drawn away to the North, and Gondor's best man is now known to have been lost forever.  His body has passed down the river to the sea, his horn lies on Denethor's lap.  The Steward's bitterness is unhidden.

Be not unjust in your grief.
GANDALF

From the Farsighted

Though the Stones be lost, they say,
still the Lords of Gondor have keener sight than lesser men.
DENETHOR

Gandalf and Denethor, 'two such terrible old men', are like few others in Middle Earth.  Both are steeped in learning and legacy; both are readers of hearts and thoughts; both see far and perceive much; and few bear greater burdens of responsibility.

Denethor speaks to Gandalf as to a peer; respectful yet proud, and confident enough in his own wisdom to listen to the wizard's advice but choose not to take it.

Courage will now be your best defence.
GANDALF

When you are a dotard you will die.
GANDALF

Pride would be folly that disdained help and counsel at need.
DENETHOR

Beregond of the Guard

Beregond is the first rank-and-file man of Gondor to come into the story, and an insight into 'normal' Numenoreans.  As others in the City, he looks upon Pippin with an honest curiosity, nodding to himself as his guest's words conform to the wisdom of his people that has been handed down to him.

Men who go warring afield look ever to the next hope of food and of drink.
BEREGOND

At the table small men may do the greater deeds.
BEREGOND

Having mainly hidden behind the other hobbits' seniority until this point, becoming the nearest thing to a passenger that the Fellowship could offer, Pippin no longer has that option.  He is seen as a prince and treated not unlike one, and for the first time we are able to see the future Thain act like one.

We may stand, if only on one leg, or at least be left still upon our knees.
PIPPIN

Strange accents do not mar fair speech.
BEREGOND

On Simple Wisdom

When Pippin, who at 29 has not yet come of age, is paired with the 10 year old Bergil son of Beregond, we have no need to expect from them any great insight or understanding of the world.  Yet even they have store enough of simple proverbs to pepper their conversation.

Every little is a gain.
BERGIL

Folk are not always as they seem.
PIPPIN

The Desperation of Denethor

Let all who fight the Enemy in their fashion be at one.
DENETHOR

Between the King of Rohan and the Steward of Gondor there is a unity of purpose and a juxtaposition of perspective.  Neither see much hope ahead, for their countries or themselves, but their parallel preparations contrast strongly with one another.

Much must be risked in war
DENETHOR

Having been redoubtable, Denethor is now despairing: his great knowledge and far sight show him the hopelessness of counsels or of combat; he knows that 'against the Power that has now arisen there is no victory'.  The palantir has shown Denethor what Sauron would have him see, and the darkness thickens in his thoughts.

In desperate hours gentleness may be repaid with death.
DENETHOR

Counsels may be found that are neither the webs of wizards
nor the haste of fools.
DENETHOR

Theoden, on the other hand, having already shaken off one encroaching, crippling darkness, will not have his thoughts clouded by another.  He has received the Red Arrow of summons and his purpose is now simple: to honour the oath of Eorl, to shake off fear, and to ride to death or glory, or both.  He knows little of Mordor or the history of the Ring, but the present task needs no such knowledge, only courage.

Remember old friendship and oaths long spoken.
HIRGON

In the morning counsels are best, and night changes many thoughts.
THEODEN

Holdwine of the Mark

Matters of height aside, Meriadoc of the Shire is very well suited to the Rohirrim: high-hearted rather than high-minded; more courageous than complicated.  He knows his place - beside the King - but has been forbidden it.

Where will wants not, a way opens.
DERNHELM

A more kindred spirit for Eowyn would be hard to find, and her decision to break two commands, by taking both herself and the holbytla to war, is both justified and forgiven in the end.

Great heart will not be denied.
THEODEN

On and From the Drughu

Amongst the diverse races and nations of Middle Earth, there can be few cultures as wholly alien as the Woses of Druadan Forest.  A lingering remnant of an ancient house of Men, highly honoured in the past but now hunted, their unique nature gives them a distinctive perspective on the world.  Most of their proverbs, such as they are, describe themselves.

Wild men have long ears and long eyes; know all paths.
GHAN

Wild men are wild, free, but not children.
GHAN

Ghan-buri-Ghan wants no more than freedom for his people to live wild, and in his wisdom he recognises the Rohirrim as allies against the Darkness.  The short intervention of the Druedain saves Minas Tirith, but they want no reward, loving only the death of orcs and being unhindered in their simple lives.

Kill orc-folk!  No other words please Wild Men.
GHAN

Dead men are not friends to living men, and give them no gifts.
GHAN

Ironies of Evil

 It is all dark, but it is not all night.
GHAN

 

Having led the Eorlingas through the Stonewain Valley past Amon Din, Ghan bids Theoden farewell with hopeful tidings.  The murk of Mordor that has blotted out the last five days' sunlight has also protected them from detection, and is now about to shift.  As has often been noticed, works of malice regularly achieve unwanted ends.

Our Enemy's devices oft serve us in his despite.
EOMER

On the Pelennor

Need brooks no delay, yet late is better than never.
EOMER

Horns, horns, horns.  The music of battle echoes around Mindolluin as the last host of the Rohirrim arrive with the dawn.  And not a moment too soon, for the city is burning, the gate is thrown down, the Steward is about to kill himself, and the men of Minas Tirith have fled the walls at the coming of the Lord of the Nazgul.

Twice blessed is help unlooked for.
EOMER

 

The Rohirrim are an uncomplicated people, and their strength is not in strategy; Theoden knows that fleet-footed aggression and big-hearted courage are what his people bring to the field.

Strike wherever the enemy gathers.
THEODEN

Yet even as the Last Host of the Eorlingas enter the fray, their horns bring the Witch-King flying from the gate, saving the city perhaps but dooming their king.

On Internal Division

Faramir or Theoden?  Whose life to save?  That is the choice, effectively, that faces Gandalf at the gate of Minas Tirith, upon the Witch-King removing himself to the battlefield.  In terms of a like-for-like struggle, there is no one else who can stand against the Lord of the Nine, but there is also no one to come to stand in the path of Denthor's madness and come to Faramir's aid.

Even in the heart of our stronghold the Enemy has power to strike us.
GANDALF

It seems that Gandalf chooses correctly, despite having no guess at the unlikely hand by which their foe would be struck down.

Returning to Rath Dinen from the main gate of the City is no five minute stroll.  Gandalf knew that to go up meant that he could play no further part in the battle for an hour or more, and that this delay could be grievous.

The scene he finds there, with Beregond defending his Captain's life by means of treason and manslaughter, is typical of the needless strife that Gandalf has always striven against.  That there are proverbs available for just such a moment shows the age-long commonality of the problem.

Such deeds he loves: friend at war with friend
loyalty divided in confusion of hearts.
GANDALF

 

 

Kingsfoil

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.
CELEBORN

Aragorn has entered Minas Tirith, though not of his own choice; he is come because a serving woman remembered an old proverb in her witterings and weepings beside the fading body of Faramir.

The hands of the king are the hands of a healer.
IORETH

 

The Houses of Healing are houses of learning and lore, as well as care-filled tenderness.  Here, as well as anywhere in Middle Earth (bar, perhaps, Elrond's house), physical healing can be administered to the injured or sick.

But the Black Shadow, brought on by proximity to the Nazgul, is no wound of body, and no cure is known, despite the clues held in old rhymes of lore.

When the black breath blows
and death's shadow grows
and all lights pass
Come Athelas!  Come Athelas!
Life to the dying
In the king's hand lying!
HERB-MASTER
 

Gimli's Brush with Humility

As has been previously noted, Gimli seems almost pathologically incapable of accepting his own weakness or the strength of any who are not of his race.  His pride is chronic, and his attitude typically dismissive.

Men need many words before deeds.
GIMLI

Strange are the ways of Men.
GIMLI

Doubtless the good stonework is the older
and was wrought in the first building.
It is ever so with the things that Men begin:
there is a frost in Spring, or a blight in Summer,
and they fail of their promise.
GIMLI

Yet, by following Aragorn on the Paths of the Dead, Gimli reached a point of humbling.  "Here is a thing unheard of!" he declared, "An Elf will go underground and a Dwarf dare not!"  And now, recounting to Merry and Pippin the terror of the Paths of the Dead, it seems that this humility has stayed with him.

I was put to shame: Gimli Gloin's son,
who had deemed himself more tough then Men,
and hardier under earth than any Elf.

GIMLI

On the Southern Numenoreans

The Men of Minas Tirith will never be overcome.
BERGIL

Prepare against all chances, good as well as evil.
IMRAHIL

Men are better than gates.
ARAGORN

Whether seen through the blinkered conviction of Bergil, or the steady-eyed pragmatism of Aragorn and the Prince, the fact remains that still, after three thousand years and more, the Men of Gondor and the Tower of Guard still remain unconquered.

Scorning Prudence

A great victory has been won, a great city saved, a great foe vanquished, but in the sober light of day these deeds look set to be eclipsed by even greater defeat, the destruction of all good things, and the permanent dominion of the Enemy.  For the captains of the West, all they have to cling to is 'just a fool's hope'.

Oft hope is born, when all is forlorn.
LEGOLAS [quoted by GIMLI]

They choose the only path by which they can possibly aid the destruction of Sauron: to seek battle before the Black Gate; to walk open-eyed into a trap; to engage the Eye long enough that Frodo and Sam may slip unnoticed toward the Fire.  But they know full well that their plan, however noble, in all probability seals their own destruction.

To waver is to fall.
ARAGORN

Follow what may, great deeds are not lessened in worth.
LEGOLAS

Amongst such courageous but hopeless counsels, proverbs prove weak.  For proverbs are prudent, sensible, and worn into shape by constant use; yet the present need is for foolish, innocent, uncalloused hope.  In many ways, the Wise have been forced to become like hobbits.

From Mithrandir

Gandalf uses proverbs all the time - often, very probably, without realising.  They are regularly strung together as a part of normal speech, rather than being quoted more formally.

This creates a situation where there is little way of telling whether an axiom is actually being employed, or whether Gandalf's own thoughts naturally present themselves in such lore-like poetic forms.

It is not our part to master all the tides of the world,
but to do what is in us for the succour of the years wherein we are set,
uprooting the evil in the fields that we know,
so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.
What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.
GANDALF

Which could more easily, and less floridly, be expressed as:

All we now have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
GANDALF

On the Black Land

The Shadow... can only mock, it cannot make.
FRODO

The land of Mordor, stronghold of Sauron for five millennia, is a dreary, gasping desert (especially in Gorgoroth and Udun), void of culture, creativity, or learning.

Yet there is knowledge (albeit basic) and there is experience (albeit brutal), so the basic ingredients required for wisdoms to develop are there.  And sure enough, in our short exposure to the Orcs of Mordor, even they use proverbs.

Where there's a whip there's a will.
MORDOR ORC

Mercifully, we don't hear much more.  The majority of the thinking and talking is now being done by Sam, in spite of being the servant and despite rarely trusting his own judgement.  But his simple pragmatic dictums do the job, and keep them nudging forward.

Talking won't mend nothing.
SAM

Eowyn Fights On

 

It is not always good to be healed in body.
Nor is it always evil to die in battle, even in bitter pain.
EOWYN

The state that Eowyn finds herself in after her healing by Aragorn is an exacerbation of her demise throughout the story: having been born high, hoped high and loved high, her emptiness is utter.

She is jealous of the dead, jealous of the now-departed host of the West, even jealous of those with a better view from their windows.  She is thrashing and flailing, wanting to fight but meeting nothing but compassion in return.

The world is full enough of hurts and mischances
without wars to multiply them.
WARDEN

It need but one foe to breed a war, not two.
EOWYN

Those who have not swords can still die upon them.
EOWYN

 

Having pointlessly debated war in the Houses of Healing with the Warden - the least war-like man in the city - Eowyn then comes up against an opponent who is greater than any of her people in both warcraft and wisdom, and whom she cannot conquer in debate.

Death in battle may come to us all yet, willing or unwilling.
FARAMIR

Do not scorn pity that is the gift of a gentle heart
FARAMIR

On Treason and Triumph

Gollum could have been killed by many people, and probably deserved to be: by Bilbo, in the mountains; by Aragorn, having captured him by the Dead Marshes; by Gandalf, when questioning him; by the Elves of Mirkwood, when holding him prisoner; by Frodo and Sam, on the Emyn Muil; by Faramir, in Ithilien; and by his own family, for the murder of Deagol.

Again and again, the wretched creature is spared, free to scheme again.

A traitor may betray himself and do good that he does not intend.
GANDALF

Gandalf had long foreseen Gollum's fate as being bound up with that of the Ring, and that he would still have some part to play, for good or evil.  When it comes, it does poetic justice to his divided character that the part played is for good and evil: Gollum's treason against the master that protected him delivers Frodo from enslavement, torture, and death.

The world is saved through Gollum's treachery.