Proverbs of Middle Earth

The Mirkwood

Having escaped the Mountains, Goblins, and Wargs, and reached the sanctuary of Beorn's homestead - a literal land of milk and honey - Bilbo and the Dwarves are loathe to leave.

They face the next barrier - Taur-nu-Fuin, the 'forest under night', or Taur-e-Ndaedelos, 'forest of the great fear' - Mirkwood.  And they face it without Gandalf.

There are no safe paths.
GANDALF

In the mythical imagination of North-west Europe, forests were places of danger, confusion, and overwhelming wildness: places where Man was yet to establish his will and dominion.  They were to be feared.

Mirkwood is dark, dangerous, & difficult.
BEORN

In Middle-earth, while the wild-woods are beloved by Elves and Ents, they remain seas of danger and mystery to Men, Dwarves, and Hobbits.  And among the forests, the greatest, darkest, and most intimidating was Mirkwood.

To have proverbs devoted to this great forest therefore makes sense.  The ancient Dwarves had built a road crossing it, but in latter days it represented an impenetrable barrier filled with evil things.  Even the small path of the Wood-elves represented little more than a tightrope across an abyss.

To successfully cross Mirkwood, therefore, required more than just good preparation; it needed enormous good fortune.

Depend on your luck & your courage.
BEORN

Since the return of Sauron to Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood, his malevolent influence had spread.  Not only did the vast scale and darkness of the forest stand against the traveller, but there was also an enchanted stream and monstrous spiders (amongst other evil creatures).

Additionally to these, a pervading spirit was recognised, which burdened and dispirited, as well as creating division and suspicion between the Elves, Dwarves, and Men who lived in the region.

Near the edge of Mirkwood... take the word of no one that you [do] not know as well as your brother or better.
BEORN

At Bree

September 29, and the hobbits have arrived in Bree-land.

One thing drives out another.
BUTTERBUR

It never rains but it pours.
BUTTERBUR

Bree is a crossing point, where the Greenway (joining Arnor to Gondor, via Tharbad, Dunland, and Rohan) met the Great East Road (traversed by the Elves of Lindon, Rivendell and Mirkwood, as well as the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains and the East).

It had been under the authority of the Numenorean kings of Arnor, but retained little of that high culture, having been settled by lesser men and by hobbits.

It might have been expected that such an ethnic and geographical meeting place would provide the perfect opportunity for the accumulated wisdoms of Middle Earth to combine and meld into something High, but almost the opposite is the case.

What’s done can’t be undone.
BUTTERBUR

There’s no accounting for East or West.
BUTTERBUR

The wisdom and consequent sayings of the Breelanders are almost entirely practical, functional, and run-of-the-mill, and the general attitude to the Outside World is one of bemusement and shoulder-shrugging wonder, mixed with distrust of what their ears pick up.  News is plentiful, but the men and hobbits of Bree are more concerned with day-to-day functionality than with great things, even though they can 'see through a wall, in time'.

If simple folk are free from care and fear, simple they will be.

ARAGORN

On Strider

Folk are not always what they seem.
PIPPIN

A hunted man sometimes wearies of distrust and longs for friendship.
ARAGORN

Handsome is as handsome does.
PIPPIN

Aragorn is emblematic of the paradoxical nature of reality in Middle Earth: the heir of kings whose looks are against him, he fails to impress, his sword is broken, his clothes are stained and worn.  But handsome is as handsome does, as Bilbo recognised in his poem of proverbs:

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.

At Weathertop

September 30 - October 6: From Bree-land through the Midgewater Marshes to Weathertop; no time for proverbs, adages or maxims of guidance.  When a wisdom-saying next emerges, it is clearly Strider the Ranger, rather than Aragorn the Royal Heir or Estel of Rivendell, who is speaking.

Fire is our friend in the wilderness.
ARAGORN

The Rangers were the Numenorean remnant in the North: landless and powerless, their majesty veiled, yet the custodians of Middle Earth's great tasks.  'Only a Ranger?'  Their wisdom was High (as Elf-friends as well as inheritors of the legacy of Westernesse) but had gained an earthy practicality, due to their lives in the Wild.

The Coming Of The Nazgûl

Under siege in Bree, and now pursued in the Wild; the hobbits' decision to engage Strider as their guide is still in the balance.  What power can this Ranger possibly have against the Black Riders?

Do not be afraid.
ARAGORN

But the hobbits do not know what the Rangers really are, nor are they aware of Aragorn's heritage: he is the foster-child of Elrond ('wisest of lore-masters'), descendent of Beren & Luthien; he has dwelt long in the company of the High; has been within sight of the Black Gate and Minas Morgul; and has served in war in the North and elsewhere (including as Thorongil in Rohan and Gondor).

Caution is one thing and wavering is another.
ARAGORN

Watch every shadow.
ARAGORN

Even beset by the Nazgul, he is not afraid, is in full control of himself, and may even have been able to avert disaster had Frodo not put on the Ring and tried to defend himself.

All blades perish that pierce the dreadful king.
ARAGORN

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 Caradhras

When heads are at a loss, bodies must serve.

BOROMIR

Let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming,
and for running light over grass and leaf, or snow - an Elf.

LEGOLAS

On Orcs and Wargs

 The wolf that one hears is worse than the orc that one fears.
BOROMIR

Where the warg howls, there also the orc prowls.
ARAGORN

The wolf-voices are howling beneath the pass of Caradhras and prompt action is required.  Quite properly, that action is backed up with age-old (rhyming) wisdom from the two men of the Fellowship, both experienced in the perils of the Wild, giving unified advice on the need escape the impending danger.

On Gandalf the Guide

   Let the guide go first while you have one.
ARAGORN

The navigation of Moria, a personal triumph for Gandalf, is rarely remembered, paling as it does beside its ultimate cost.  But that journey in the dark, through the vast and mind-bogglingly intricate Mines, could not possibly have been accomplished without his leadership; even Gimli, the Fellowship member most at home in such deep and dark surroundings, is left utterly bewildered by the scale of Khazad-dûm.

In these circumstances, it is Aragorn - himself one of the greatest trail-finders and guides in Middle Earth - who is left to reassure the others with his confidence in the wizard's ability.

He is surer of finding the way in a blind night than the cats of Queen Beruthiel.
ARAGORN

On the Rapids

No boat can live in Sarn Gebir, be it night or day.
BOROMIR

Some of the proverbs of Middle Earth are strikingly specific, to a particular context or location.  So it is that when the Fellowship, having floated down Anduin for the best part of a week, enter the Rapids earlier than expected, and by night, it takes no more than a one-line maxim from the member with most local knowledge to see them beating an immediate, hasty retreat.

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

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

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
 

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.

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

 

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

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 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

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.

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
 

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.

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 Home

Just as Aragorn and Arwen can finally build their long-anticipated home, it is time for the hobbits to leave Gondor and return to theirs.

It is easy to forget that the hobbits - none of whom had gone further than Bree previously - have been in exile for over seven months, living rough for much of that time (which would be hard enough for anyone, but particularly home-comforted halflings).  It must have been a sore test.

And now they must go back, and finally break up the Fellowship.  The proverb with which the King dismisses them is ironic, coming from a homeless wanderer like him, but true nonetheless.

The tree grows best in the land of its sires.
ARAGORN