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

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

 

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.'

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

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 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.

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