Proverbs of Middle Earth

Concerning Hobbits

The Holbytlan haven't been around long enough for a mature wisdom tradition to describe them.  But Gandalf's axiomatic language leaps into the void.  Since we usually see Middle Earth through the hobbits' eyes, we forget how anomalous they are to everyone else.  These descriptions help.

Hobbits really are amazing creatures.
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.
GANDALF

Soft as butter [hobbits] can be, and yet sometimes as tough as old tree roots.
GANDALF

On Sun & Shadow

Make haste while the Sun shines!
GOLDBERRY

Some things are ill to hear when the world's in shadow.
TOM BOMBADIL

The emphasis on light and darkness in Middle Earth is more than symbolism; to the characters, the physical world reflects a reality deeper than mere colour:

The Dark Lord, the Black Land, the Black Riders, the Mountains of Shadow.
The White Council, the White Rider, the White Tree, the White Lady.
The Star-Glass, the Evenstar, Gilgalad ('Starlight'), Elanor (the 'Sun-Star').

The Treason Of Saruman

White cloth may be dyed. The white page can be overwritten;
and the white light can be broken.
SARUMAN

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

Having reached Imladris, the hobbits finally discover why Gandalf had not been able to journey with them; of his imprisonment by the person most like him in Middle Earth, the chief of his order, the head of the White Council.  Saruman was now no longer 'the White' (see Sept 27th), and he had left the path of wisdom.

Treason has ever been our greatest foe.
GANDALF

Yet even the most subtle spiders may leave a weak thread.

GANDALF

In the account of the confrontation between the wizards, Saruman is described in all his eloquence: his phrases are rhythmic, easy on the ear, and riddled with sets of three (the Elder Days, the Middle Days, the Younger days; Elves, Men, the Wise; Knowledge, Rule, Order).  But it is significant that Saruman's argument, while logical, has a logic so twisted by the enemy that it no longer resembles wisdom.

But Gandalf cannot be shaken by Saruman's soft words.  He speaks in maxims as if quoting scripture, so rooted in his wisdom tradition that it has taken over his patterns of speech; a contrast with the proverb-free rhetoric of his senior, and a reflection (and probably cause) of his enduring goodness.

The Counsel of the Council

Elves may thrive on speech alone, and Dwarves endure great weariness;
but I am only an old hobbit, and I miss my meal at noon.

BILBO

 The Council of Elrond provides a fascinating opportunity to see proverbs in action.  The peoples represented all have their own wisdom traditions, some of which coincide and complement each other, and some of which don't.

Proverbs pop up regularly, used naturally and in context, illustrating the ease with which Tolkien fitted his characters within recognisable traditions.

Oft in lies truth is hidden.

GLORFINDEL

Nothing is evil in the beginning.

ELROND

The question at hand - what is this ring and what are we to do with it? - occupies those present for a whole morning.  All hear the same histories and the same reasoning, yet respond differently, according to their kind.

What was is less dark than what is to come.
DENETHOR

Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt.
GANDALF

 Valour needs first strength, and then a weapon.
BOROMIR 

Only a small part is played in great deeds by any hero. 
GANDALF 

Elrond - emblematic of the combined wisdom of Elves & Men - has a key role; allowing voices to be heard and perspectives to be honoured, whilst guiding the Council toward deciding a definite course of action that seems wise, or at least necessary, to all.

The might of Elrond is in wisdom not in weapons.
BOROMIR

It is perilous to study too deeply the arts of the Enemy, for good or for ill.

ELROND

 It is wisdom to recognise necessity, when all other courses have been weighed,
though folly it may appear to those who cling to false hope.
GANDALF

Such is oft 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.

ELROND

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.

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

 

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

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 lover: friend at war with friend
loyalty divided in confusion of hearts.
GANDALF

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 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.

From Mithrandir

With Sauron defeated and his work complete, the Grey Wanderer no longer needs to wander, entering a joyful semi-retirement: laughing, serving, and stringing together proverbs like never before.

Many folk like to know beforehand what is to be set on the table;
but those who have laboured to prepare the feast like to keep their secret;
for wonder makes the words of praise louder.
GANDALF

One White Tree

It seems rather peculiar to discover that among the dictums passed down through the ages, there are some about nothing more important than a tree.

But when that tree is the only known descendent of the White Tree of Numenor, and that of the Eldest of Trees, then perhaps we can see how its care and tending might be a matter of lore and not just of gardening.

It is said that though the fruit of the Tree comes seldom to ripeness,
yet the life within may then lie sleeping through many long years,
and none can foretell the time in which it will awake.
GANDALF

A Snake Without Fangs?

Treebeard has proven too gentle-hearted a jailor after all, releasing Saruman at last from the ruins of his dead hopes.  His reasoning is logical, if over-trusting of a multiple traitor.

A snake without fangs may crawl where he will.
TREEBEARD

And when, further up the road north, the travelling company overtake the Wizard and his Worm, the two wanderers are pitied - not that Saruman has anything but derision for mercy and kindness.

A beggar must be grateful, if a thief returns him even a morsel of his own.
SARUMAN

In a very hobbit-like act of simple generosity, Merry gives Saruman all his remaining pipeweed, only to be accused of thievery and then not even having the pouch returned.  But this is the degree to which Saruman has withered.

One thief deserves another.
SARUMAN

Sharky's End

With only one pleasure left in life - creating distress and disturbance for those he hates - Saruman has set about the destruction of the Shire.

One ill turn deserves another.
SARUMAN

The wizard's spite, founded on vengeance for his own fall from dignity and authority - from favourite of Aule in Valinor to homeless exile - and on jealousy of the hobbits who have risen so high, is mirrored by that felt for him by Wormtongue, who pays back his long suffering with the murder of his master.

Grima is then himself shot, despite Frodo's desperate protests to avoid bloodshed.

It is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing.
FRODO

The contrast between the Big People (the oafish thuggery of the ruffians, the bitter retribution of Saruman and Wormtongue etc.) and Hobbits (including the generous mercy of Frodo, and the simple sense of the Gaffer) shows where wisdom assuredly lies, and how out of place murder and meanness are in the Shire.

It's an ill wind as blows nobody no good.
GAFFER

All's well as ends Better!
GAFFER

On Enduring Pain

 

There is no real going back.
FRODO

There are some wounds which cannot be wholly cured.
GANDALF

Having been key in averting utter disaster for all of Middle Earth, it is a great tragedy is that Frodo cannot benefit from what he has achieved.  Sam feels the injustice most keenly; aware that few know (or care) what his master has done and sacrificed, and heartbroken that even in anonymity, Frodo cannot enjoy the Shire that he saved.

It must be so, when things are in danger:
some one has to give them up, lose them,
so that others may keep them.
FRODO

Leaving the Havens

Frodo is leaving, Bilbo is leaving, Gandalf is leaving.

So too are Elrond, Gildor, Galadriel and many others; the Third Age is ended, and Middle Earth will now be for the Mortal.  They pass through the Shire and come to the Sea, where they must say goodbye.

Not all tears are an evil.
GANDALF

At Mithlond, the Grey Havens, Pippin and Merry join them for one final parting, and also to share the journey back with Sam.

It [is] better to ride... three together than one alone.
GANDALF

Tears fall, but without bitterness.  Farewell.