Proverbs of Middle Earth

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 Hunt

After the successive disasters of losing Boromir, the kidnap of Merry & Pippin, and the absconding of Frodo with Sam, the Fellowship's remaining three are for a time lost in a mire of self-condemnation and despair.  They do not know what course of action to choose - or indeed, as Gimli says, if there even is a right choice - and their leader keeps repeating that 'all he has done has gone amiss'.

It is in such circumstances that the Three Hunters - and particularly Legolas and Aragorn - fall back on received wisdom to keep them moving.  The proverbs they quote are nearly all straightforward and practical, aimed to advise while protecting them from depression and self-defeat.

Let us first do what we must do.
LEGOLAS

When the great fall, the less must lead.
ARAGORN

There are some things that it is better to begin than to refuse,
even though the end may be dark.
ARAGORN

Endure the East Wind, but do not ask it for tidings.
ARAGORN

Having dealt with and mourned Boromir, and set out upon the hopeless pursuit of Merry & Pippin's captors, these proverbs become an encouragement (ie. reminding the Three that they are indeed equipped for their difficult task) and a source of hope that all is not lost.

Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall.
ARAGORN

Where sight fails the earth may bring us rumour.
ARAGORN

Keen are the eyes of the elves.
ARAGORN

Rede oft is found at the rising of the Sun.
LEGOLAS

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

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 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

 

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

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.