The Fellowship of the Ring - Book II - J. R. R. Tolkien

The Fellowship of the Ring – Book II – J. R. R. Tolkien

1.  Frodo’s Strength:  [Gandalf] “‘. . . You were beginning to fade,’ answered Gandalf. ‘The wound was overcoming you at last.  A few more hours and you would have been beyond our aid.  But you have some strength in you, my dear hobbit!  As you showed in the Barrow.  That was touch and go: perhaps the most dangerous moment of all.  I wish you could have held out at Weathertop.’”  p. 290

2. Powers Greater than Gandalf:  [Gandalf] “‘. . . At the moment I will only say that I was held captive.’ - - - ‘You?’ cried Frodo. - - - ‘Yes, I, Gandalf the Grey,’ said the wizard solemnly. ‘There are many powers in the world, for good or for evil.  Some are greater than I am.  Against some I have not yet measured.  But my time is coming.’”  pp. 290-291

3. Who the Rangers Are:  “‘Do you really mean that Strider is one of the people of the old Kings?’ said Frodo in wonder.  ‘I thought they had all vanished long ago.  I thought he was only a Ranger.’ - - - ‘Only a Ranger!’ cried Gandalf.  ‘My dear Frodo, that is just what the Rangers are: the last remnant in the North helped me before; and I shall need their help in the days of the great people. The Men of the West.’” p. 291

4. Morgul-knife:  [Gandalf] “‘They tried to pierce your heart with a Morgul-knife which remains in the wound.  If they had succeeded you would have become like they are, only weaker and under their command.  You would have become a wraith under the dominion of the Dark Lord; and he would have tormented you for trying to keep his Ring, if any greater torment were possible than being robbed of it and seeing it on his hand.’” p. 293

5. The Power of the Elves – Glorfindel:  [Frodo] “‘What about Rivendell and the Elves?  Is Rivendell safe?’ - - - ‘Yes, at present, until all else is conquered.  The Elves may fear the Dark Lord, and they may fly before him, but never again will they listen to him or serve him.  And here in Rivendell there live still some of his chief foes: the Elven-wise, lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas.  They do not fear the Ringwraiths, for those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and the Unseen they have great power.’ - - - ‘I thought that I saw a white figure that shone and did not grow dim like the others.  Was that Glorfindel then?’ - - - ‘Yes, you saw him for a moment as he is upon the other side: one of the mighty of the First-born.  He is an elf-lord of a house of princes.  Indeed there is a power in Rivendell to withstand the might of Mordor, for a while: and elsewhere other powers still dwell.  There is power, too, of another kind in the Shire.  But all such places will soon become islands under siege, if things go on as they are going. The Dark Lord is putting forth all his strength.’ - - - ‘Still,’ he said, standing suddenly up and sticking out his chin, while his beard went stiff and straight like bristling wire, ‘we must keep up our courage.  You will soon be well, if I do not talk you to death.  You are in Rivendell, and you need not worry about anything for the present.’” p. 294

6. Elf-lord Revealed: “‘When the Ringwraiths swept by, your friends ran up behind.  Close to the Ford there is a small hollow beside the road masked by a few stunted tress.  There they hastily kindled fire; for Glorfindel knew that a flood would come down, if the Riders tried to cross, and then he would have to deal with any that were left on his side of the river.  The moment the flood appeared, he rushed out, followed by Aragorn and the others with flaming brands.  Caught between fire and water, and seeing an Elf-lord revealed in his wrath, they were dismayed, and their horses were stricken with madness.  Three were carried away by the first assault of the flood; the others were now hurled into the water by their horses and overwhelmed.’” p. 295

7. Wraiths Not Easily Destroyed:  “‘And is that the end of the Black Riders?’ asked Frodo. - - - ‘No,’ said Gandalf.  ‘Their horses must have perished, and without them they are crippled.  But the Ringwraiths themselves cannot be so easily destroyed.’”  p. 295

8. Honor to Frodo:  [Gandalf] “‘. . . Soon there will be feasting and merrymaking to celebrate the victory at the Ford of Bruinen, and you will all be there in places of honour.’ - - - ‘Splendid!’ said Frodo.  ‘It is wonderful that Elrond, and Glorfindel and such great lords, not to mention Strider, should take so much trouble and show me so much kindness.’ - - - ‘Well, there are many reasons why they should.’ Said Gandalf, smiling.  ‘I am one good reason.  The Ring is another: you are the Ring-bearer. And you are the heir of Bilbo, the Ring-finder.’” p296

9. The Last Homely House:  “Frodo was now safe in the Last Homely House east of the Sea.  That house was, as Bilbo had long ago reported, ‘a perfect house, whether you like food or sleep or story-telling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all’.  Merely to be there was a cure for weariness, fear, and sadness.”  pp. 296-297

10. Sam on Elves:  [Sam] “. . . ‘And Elves, sir! Elves here, and Elves there! Some like kings, terrible and splendid; and some as merry as children.  And the music and the singing—not that I have had the time or the heart for much listening since we got here.’”  p. 297

11. The Lords of the West:  “Elrond, as was his custom, sat in a great chair at the end of the long table upon the dais; and next to him on the one side sat Glorfindel, on the other side sat Gandalf. - - - Frodo looked at them in wonder, for he had never before seen Elrond, of whom so many tales spoke; and as they sat upon his right hand and his left, Glrofindel, and even Gandalf, whom he thought he knew so well were revealed as lords of dignity and power.

Gandalf was shorter in stature than the other two; but his long white hair, his sweeping silver beard, and his broad shoulders, made him look like some wise king of ancient legend.  In his aged face under great snowy brows his dark eyes were set like coals that could leap suddenly into fire.

Glorfindel was tall and straight; his hair was of shining gold, his face fair and young and fearless and full of joy; his eyes were bright and keen, and his voice like music; on his brow sat wisdom, and in his hand was strength.

[Elrond] The face of Elrond was ageless, neither old nor young, though in it was written the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful.  His hair was dark as the shadows of twilight, and upon it was set a circlet of silver; his eyes were gray as a clear evening, and in them was a light like the light of stars.  Venerable he seemed as a king crowned with many winters, and yet hale as a tried warrior in the fullness of his strength.  He was the Lord of Rivendall and might among both Elves and Men.

[Arwen] In the middle of the table, against the woven cloths upon the wall, there was a chair under a canopy, and there sat a lady fair to look upon, and so like was she in form of womanhood to Elrond that Frodo guessed that she was one of his close kindred.  Young she was and yet not so.  [Arwen was 2777 years old at this time.] The braids of her dark hair were touched by no frost; her white arms and clear face were flawless and smooth, and the light of stars was in her bright eyes, grey as a cloudless night; yet queenly she looked, and thought and knowledge were in her glance, as of one who has known many things that the years bring.  Above her brow her head was covered with a cap of sliver lace netted with small gems, glittering white; but her soft gray raiment had no ornament save a girdle of leaves wrought in silver. - - - So it was that Frodo saw her whom few mortals had yet seen; Arwen, daughter of Elrond, in whom it was said that the likeness of Luthien had come on earth again; and she was called Undomiel, for she was the Evenstar of her people.”  pp299-300

12.  Frodo’s Seat of Honor:  “Such loveliness in living things Frodo had never seen before nor imagined in his mind; and he was both surprised and abashed to find that he had a seat at Elrond’s table among all these folk so high and fair.  Though he had a suitable chair, and was raised upon several cushions, he felt very small, and rather out of place; but that feeling quickly passed.”  p. 300

13. Gloin:  “. . . next to Frodo on his right sat a dwarf of important appearance, richly dressed.  His beard, very long and forked, was white, nearly as white as the snow-white cloth of his garments.  He wore a silver belt, and round his neck hung a chain of silver and diamonds.  Frodo stopped eating to look at him. - - - ‘Welcome and well met!’ said the dwarf, turning towards him.  Then he actually rose from his seat and bowed.  ‘Gloin at your service,’ he said, and bowed still lower. - - - ‘Frodo Baggins at your service and your family’s,’ said Frodo correctly, rising in surprise and scattering his cushions.  ‘Am I right in guessing that you are the Gloin, one of the twelve companions of the great Thorin Oakenshield?’ - - - ‘Quite right,’ said the dwarf, gathering up the cushions and courteously assisting Frodo back into his seat.”  p. 300

 14. The Doings of the Dwarves:  “. . . Dain was still King under the mountain, and was now old (having passed his two hundred and fiftieth year), venerable, and fabulously rich.  Of the ten companions who had survived the Battle of Five Armies seven were still with him; Dwalin, Gloin, Dori, Nori, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur. . . - - - And what has become of Balin and Orin and Oin?’ asked Frodo. - - - A shadow passed over Gloin’s face.  ‘We do not know,’ he answered.  ‘It is largely on account of Balin that I have come to ask the advice of those that dwell in Rivendell.’”   p. 302

15. Frodo’s Love for Bilbo:  “Gloin looked at Frodo and smiled.  “you were very fond of Bilbo were you not?’ he asked. - - - ‘Yes,’ answered Frodo.  ‘I would rather see him than all the towers and palaces in the world.’”  p. 303

16. Bilbo, Frodo, and the Ring:  “. . . Slowly he [Frodo] drew it out.  Bilbo put out his hand.  But Frodo quickly drew back the Ring.  To his distress and amazement he found that he was no longer looking at Bilbo; a shadow seemed to have fallen between them, and through it he found himself eyeing a little wrinkled creature with a hungry face and bony groping hands.  He felt a desire to strike him. -  - - The music and singing round them seemed to falter, and a silence fell.  Bilbo looked quickly at Frodo’s face and passed his hand across his eyes. ‘I understand now,’ he said.  ‘Put it away! I am sorry; sorry you have come in for this burden: sorry about everything. Don’t; adventures ever have an end?  I suppose not.  Someone else always has to carry on the story.  Well, it can’t be helped.  I wonder if it’s any good trying to finish my book?  But don’t let’s worry about it now—let’s have some real News!  Tell me about the Shire?’”  p. 306

17. Dunadan Defined:  “‘The Dunadan,’ said Bilbo.  ‘He is often called that here.  But I thought you knew enough Elvish at last to know dun-adan: Man of the West, Numerorean’” pp. 306-307

18. The Words of Elvin Songs Take Shape:  “At first the beauty of the melodies and the interwoven words in the Elven-tongue, even though he understood them little, held him in a spell, as soon as he began to attend to them.  Almost it seemed that the words took shape, and visons of far lands and bright things that he had never yet imagined opened out before him; and the firelit hall became like a golden mist above the seas of foam that sighed upon the margins of the world.”  p. 307

19. Elves, Music, and Stories:  “‘It is difficult to keep awake here, until you get used to it,’ said Bilbo.  ‘Not that hobbits would ever acquire quite the elvish appetite for music and poetry and tales.  They seem to like them as much as food, or more.  They will be going on for a long time yet.’”   p. 312

20. At the Council of Elrond:  “He [Elrond] then pointed out and named those whom Frodo had not met before.  There was a younger dwarf at Gloin’s side: his son Gimli.  Beside Glorfindel there were several other counsellors of Elrond’s household, of whom Erestor was the chief; and with him was Baldor, an Elf from the Grey Havens who had come on and errand from Cirdan the Shipwright.  There was also a strange Elf clad in green and brown, Legolas, a messenger from his father, Thranduil, the King of the Elves of Northern Mirkwood.  And seated a little apart was a tall man with a  fair and noble face, dark-haired and grey-eyed, proud and stern of glance. . . - - - ‘Here’ said Elrond, turning to Gandalf, ‘is Boromir, a man from the South.’”   p. 315

21. Gloin on Moria:  “Gloin sighed.  Moria! Moria! Wonder of the Northern world!  Too deep we delved there, and woke the nameless fear.  Long have its vast mansions lain empty since the children of Durin fled.  But now we spoke of it again with longing, and yet with dread; for no dwarf has dared to pass the doors of Khazad-dum for many lives of kings, save Thror only, and he perished.  At last, however, Balin listened to the whispers, and resolved to go; and though Dain did not give leave willingly, he took with him Ori and Oin and many of our folk, and they went away south. ‘ - - - ‘That was nigh on thirty years ago.  For a while we had news and it seemed good: messages reported that Moria had been entered and a great work begun there.  Then there was silence, and no word has ever come from Moria since.’”  p. 316

22. The Ultimatum to Dain:  “‘Then about a year ago a messenger came to Dain, but not from Moria—from Mordor: a horseman in the night, who called Dain to his gate.  The Lord Sauron the Great, so he said, wished for our friendship.  Rings he would give for it, such as he gave of old.  And he asked urgently concerning hobbits, of what kind they were, and where they dwelt.  “For Sauron knows,” said he, “that one of these was known to you on a time.” - - -‘At this we were greatly troubled, and we gave no answer.  And then his fell voice was lowered, and he would have sweetened it if he could.  “As a small token only of you friendship Sauron asks this,” he said: “that you should find this thief,” such was his word, “and get from him, willing or no, a little ring, the least of rings, that once he stole.  It is but a trifle that Sauron fancies, and an earnest of your good will.  Find it, and three rings that the dwarf sires possessed of old shall be returned to you, and the realm of Moria shall be yours for ever.   Find only news of the thief, whether he still lives and where, and you shall have great reward and lasting friendship from the Lord.  Refuse, and things will not seem so well.  Do you refuse?” - - - ‘At that his breath came like the hiss of snakes, and all who stood by shuddered, but Dain said:  “I say neither ya nor nay.  I must consider this message and what it means under its fair cloak.” - - - ‘ “Consider well, but not too long,” said he. - - -“ ’ . . . Twice the messenger has returned, and has gone unanswered.  The third and last time, so he says, is soon to come, before the ending of the year. - - - ‘And so I  have been sent at last by Dain to warn Bilbo that he is sought by the Enemy, and to learn, if may be, why he desires this ring, this least of rings.  Also we crave the advice of Elrond.’”  pp.  316-317

23. Chance Not Chance: [Elrond] “‘That is the purpose for which you are called hither.  Called, I say, though I have not called you to me, strangers from distant lands.  You have come and are here met, in this very nick of time, by chance as it may seem.  Yet in is not so.  Believe rather that it is so ordered that we, who sit here, and none others, must now find counsel for the peril of the world.”  p. 318

24. The Making of the Rings of Power:  “[Elrond] ‘. . . so that all may understand what is the peril, the tale of the Ring shall be told from the beginning even to this present.  And I will begin that tale, though others shall end it.’ - - - They all listened while Elrond in his clear voice spoke of Sauron and the Rings of Power, and their forging in the Second Age of the world long ago.  A part of his tale was known to some there, but the full tale to none, and many eyes were turned to Elrond in fear and wonder as he told of the Elven-smiths of Eregion and their friendship with Moria, and their eagerness for knowledge, by which Sauron ensnared them.  For in that time he was not yet evil to behold, and they received his aid and grew mighty in craft, whereas he learned all their secrets, and betrayed them. And forged secretly in the Mountain of Fire the One Ring to be their master.  But Celebrimbor was aware of him, and hid the Three which he had made; and there was war, and  the land was laid waste, and the gate of Moria was shut.”  p. 318

25. The “Last Alliance of Elves and Men”:   “Then Elendil the Tall and his mighty sons, Isildur and Anarion, became great lords; and the North-realm they made in Arnor, and the South-realm in Gondor about the mouths of Anduin.  But Sauron of Mordor assailed them, and they made the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, and the hosts of Gilgalad and Elendil were mustered in Arnor.” P 319

26. On Elrond and His Memory of the Great Victory:  “Thereupon Elrond paused a while and sighed.  ‘I remember well the splendor of their banners,’ he said.  ‘It recalled to me the glory of the Elder Days and the hosts of Beleriand, so many great princes and captains were assembled.  And yet no so many, not so fair, as when Thangorodrim was broken, and the Elves deemed that evil was ended for ever, and it was not so.’ - - - ‘You remember?’ said Frodo speaking his thought aloud in his astonishment.  ‘But I thought,’ he stammered as Elrond turned towards him, ‘I thought that the fall of Gil-gald was a long age ago.’ - - - ‘So it was indeed,’ answered Elreond gravely.  ‘But my memory reaches back even to the Elder Days.  Earendil was my sire, who was born in Gondolin before its fall; and my mother was Elwing, daughter of Dior, son of Luthien of Doriath.  I have seen three ages in the West of the world, and many defeats, and many fruitless victories. - - - ‘I was the herald of Gil-galad and marched with him host.  I was at the Battle of Dagorlad before the Black Gate of Mordor, where we had the mastery: for the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aiglos and Narsil, none could withstand.  I beheld the last combat of the slopes of Orodruin, where Gil-galad died, and Elendil fell, and Narsil, broke beneath him; but Sauron himself was overthrown, and Isldur cut the Ring from his hand with the hilt-shard of his father’s sword, and took it for his own.’”  p. 319

27. Isildur Keeps the Ring:  [Elrond] “‘It should have been cast then into Orodruin’s fire nigh at hand where it was made.  But few marked what Isildur did.  He alone stood by his father in the last mortal contest; and by Gil-galad only Cirdan stood, and I.  But Isildur would not listen to our counsel.’”  p. 320

28. The Effects of the Last Alliance:  [Elrond] “‘Fruitless did I call the victor of the Last Alliance?  Not wholly so, yet it did not achieve its end.  Sauron was diminished, but not destroyed.  His Ring was lost but not unmade.  The Dark Tower was broken, but its foundations were not removed; for they were made with the power of the Ring, and while it remains they will endure.’”  p. 320

29. Cities and Towers of Gondor:  [Elrond] “‘In the South the realm of Gondor long endured; and for a while its splendour (sp) grew, - - - Their chief city was Osgiliath, Citadel of the Stars, through the midst of which the River flowed.  And Minas Ithil they built, Tower of the Rising Moon, eastward upon a shoulder of the Mountain of Shadow; and westward at the feet of the White Mountains Minas Anor the made, Tower of the Setting Sun.’”  p.  321

30.  The Dream of the Princes of Gondor:  “‘In that dream I thought the eastern sky grew dark and there was a growing thunder, but in the West a pale light lingered, and out of it I heard a voice, remote but clear, crying: Seek for the Sword that was broken: - In Imladris it dwells: - There shall be counsels taken – Stronger than Morgul-spells. – There shall be shown a token – That doom is near at hand, - For Isildur’s Bane shall waken, - And the Halfing forth shall stand.’”  p. 323

31. Bilbo’s Poem for Strider:  “‘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. - - - From the ashes a fire shall be woken, - A light from the shadows shall spring; - Renewed shall be blade that was broken; - The crownless again shall be king.  p. 325

32. Aragorn Proclaims His Birthright [He Is Not Hesitant to Be King.]:  “‘I am but the heir of Isildur, not Isildur himself.  I have had a hard life and a long; and the leagues that lie between here and Gondor are a small part in the count of my journeys.  I have crossed many mountains and many rivers, and trodden many plains, even into the far countries of Rhun and Hard where the stars are strange.’ - - - ‘But my home, such as I have, is in the North.  For here the heirs of Valandil have ever dwelt in long line unbroken from father unto son for many generations.  Our days have darkened, and we have dwindled; but ever the Sword has passed to a new keeper.”  pp. 325-326 

33. Roll of the Rangers:  “‘And this I will say to you, Boromir, ere I end.  Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters—but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy; for they are found in many places, not in Mordor only. - - - ‘If Gondor, Boromir, has been a stalwart tower, we have played another part.  Many evil things there are that your strong walls and bright swords do not stay.  You know little of the lands beyond your bounds.  Peace and freedom, do you say?  The North would have known them little but for us.  Fear would have destroyed them.  But when dark things come from the houseless hills, or creep from sunless woods, they fly from us.  What roads would any dare to tread, what safety would there be in quiet lands, or in the homes of simple men at night, if the Dunedain were asleep, or were all gone into the grave?’”   p. 326

34. Gandalf Spies on the Necromancer: [Gandalf] “‘Some here will remember that many years ago I myself dared to pass the doors of the Necromancer in Dol Guldur,  and secretly explored his ways, and found thus that our fears were true: he was none other than Sauron, our Enemy of old, at length taking shape and power again.’”  p. 328

35.  Sauron’s Feign:  [Gandalf] “. . . ‘Saruman dissuaded us from open deeds against him [Sauron], and for long we watched him only.  Yet at last, as his shadow grew, Saruman yielded, and the Council put forth its strength and drove the evil out of Mirkwood—and that was in the very year of the finding of this Ring: a strange chance, if chance it was.’ - - - ‘But we were too late, as Elrond foresaw.  Sauron also had watched us, and had long prepared against our stroke, governing Mordor from afar through Minas Morgul, where his Nine servants dwelt, until all was ready.  The he gave way before us, but only feigned to flee, and soon after came to the Dark Tower and openly declared himself.’”  pp. 328-329

36. Gandalf Hesitates – Fear of Treason:  “‘There I was at fault,’ he [Gandalf] said.  ‘I was lulled by the words of Saruman the Wise; but I should have sought of the truth sooner, and our peril would now be less.’ - - - ‘We were all at fault,’ said Elrond, ‘and but for your vigilance the Darkness, maybe, would already be upon us.  But say on.’ - - - ‘But I spoke yet of my dread to none, knowing the peril of an untimely whisper, if it went astray.  In all the long wars with the Dark Tower treason has ever been our greatest foe.’ - - - ‘That was seventeen years ago.  Soon I became aware that spies of many sorts, even beasts and birds, were gathered round the Shire and fear grew.  I called for the help of the Dunedain, and their watch was doubled; and I opened my heart to Aragorn, the heir of Isildur.’”  p. 330

37. How the Ring Can Be Know:  [Gandalf] “‘The Ring itself might tell if it were the One.  The memory of words at the Council came back to me: words of Saruman, half-heeded at the time.  I heard them now clearly in my heart.  “The Nine, the Seven, and the Three,” he said, “had each their proper gem.  Not so the One.  It was round and unadorned, as it were one of the lesser rings; but its maker set marks upon it that the skilled, maybe, could still see and read.””  p. 330

38. The Secret Hidden in the Library of Minas Anor:  “. . . ‘there lies in Minas Tirith still, unread, I guess, by any save Saruman and myself since the kings failed, a scroll that Isildur made himself.  For Isildur did not march straight from the war to Mordor, as some have told the tale . . . that time also he made this scroll,’ said Gandalf; ‘and that is not remembered in Gondor, it would seem.  For this scroll concerns the Ring, and thus wrote Isildur therein: The Great Ring shall go now to be an heirloom of the North Kingdom; but records of it shall be left in Gondor, where also dwell the heirs of Elendil, lest a time come when the memory of these great matters shall grow dim . . . It was hot when I first took it, not as a glede, and my hand was scorched, so that I doubt if ever again I shall be free of the pain of it. Yet even as I write it is cooled, and it seemeth to shrink, though it loseth neither its beauty nor its shape.  Already the writing upon it, which at first was as clear as red flame, fadeth and is now only barely to be read.  It is fashioned in the Elven-script of Eregion, for they have no letters in Mondor (sp) for such subtle work; but the language is unknown to me.  I deem it to be a tongue of the Black Land, since it is foul and uncouth.  What evil it saith I do not know; but I trace here a copy of it, least it fade beyond recall.  The Ring misseth, maybe, the heat of Sauron’s hand, which was black and yet burned like fire, and so Gil-glad was destroyed; and maybe were the gold made hot again, the writing would be refreshed.  But for my part I will risk no hurt to this thing: of all the works of Sauron the only fair.  It is precious to me, though I buy it with great pain.”  pp. 332

39. Sauron’s Power in the Ring: [Gandalf]  “‘. . . this thing is indeed what the Wise have declared: the treasure of the Enemy, fraught with all his malice; and in it lies a great part of his strength of old.  Out of the Black Years come the words that the Smiths of Eregion heard, and knew that they had been betrayed: One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them.’”   pp. 333-334

40. Foreshadowing the Fate of Gollum:  “‘Well, well, he [Gollum] is gone,’ said Gandalf.  ‘We have no time to seek for him again.  He must do what he will.  But he may play a part yet that neither he nor Sauron has foreseen.’”  p. 336

41. Meet Radagast the Brown:  “‘. . . and not far from Bree I came upon a traveler sitting on a bank beside the road with his grazing horse beside him.  It was Radagast the Brown, who at one time dwelt at Rhosgobel, near the borders of Mirkwood.  He is one of my order, but I had not seen him for many a year.’“

42. On Saruman and Radagast: [Gandalf] “‘For Saruman the White is the greatest of my order.  Radagast is, of course, a worthy wizard, a master of shapes and changes of hue; and he has much lore of herbs and beasts, and birds are especially his friends.  But Saruman has long studied the arts of the Enemy himself, and thus we have often been able to forestall him.  It was by the devices of Saruman that we drove him from Dol Guldur.  It might be that he had found some weapons that would drive back the Nine.’”  p. 337

43. Saruman’s Trap:  “‘Radagast the Brown!’ laughed Saruman, and he no longer concealed his scorn.  ‘Radagast the Bird-tamer!  Radagast the Simple!  Radagast the Fool!  Yet he had just the wit to play the part that I set him.  For you have come, and that was all the purpose of my message.  And here you will stay, Gandalf the Grey, and rest for journeys.  For I am Saruman, the Wise, Saruman Ring-maker, Saruman of Many Colors!” p.339

44. A New Time Is Coming (Socialism):  [Saruman] “‘The Elder Days are gone.  The Middle Days are passing.  The Younger Days are beginning.  The time of the Elves is over, but our time is at Hand: the world of Men, which we must rule.  But we must have power, power to order all things as we will, for that good which only the Wise can see.’”  pp. 341-342

45. Saved by Radagast: “‘It would have been useless in any case to try and win over the honest Radagast to treachery.  He sought me in good faith, and so persuaded me. - - - That was the undoing of Saruman’s plot.  For Radagast knew no reason why he should not do as I asked; and he rode away towards Mirkwood where he had many friends of old.  And the Eagles of the Mountains went far and wide, and they saw many things: the gathering of wolves and the mustering of Orcs; and the Nine Riders going hither and thither in the lands; and they heard news of the escape of Gollum,  And they sent a messenger to bring these tiding to me. - - - ‘So it was that when summer waned, there came a night of moon, and Gwaihir the Windlord, swiftest of the Great Eagles, came unlooked-for to Orthanc; and he found me standing on the pinnacle,  Then I spoke to him and he bore me away, before Saruman was aware.  I was far from Isengard, ere the wolves and orcs issued from the gate to pursue me.’”  p. 343

46. Bombadil Was First – So Says Elrond:  [Elrond] “‘. . .  I had forgotten Bombadil, if indeed this is still the same that walked the woods and hills long ago, and even then he was older than the old.  That was not them his name.  Iarwain Ben-adar we called him, oldest and fatherless.  But many another name he has since been given by the other folk:  Forn by the Dwarves, Orald by the Northern Men, and other names beside.  He is a strange creature, but maybe I should have summoned him to our Council.’”  p. 348

47. Tom’s Power:  “‘Could we not still send messages to him [Tom] and obtain his help?’ asked Erestor.  ‘It seems that he has a power even over the Ring.’ - - - ‘No, I should not put it so,’ said Gandalf.  ‘Say rather that the Ring has no power over him.  He is his own master.  But he cannot alter the Ring itself, nor break its power over others.  And now he is withdrawn into a little land, within bounds that he has set, though none can see them, waiting perhaps for a change of days, and he will not step beyond them.’”  p. 348

48. Power of the Elves:  “‘I know little of Iarwain save the name,’ said Galdor; ‘but Glorfindel, I think, is right.  Power to defy our Enemy is not in him, unless such power is in the earth itself.  And yet we see Sauron can torture and destroy the very hills.  What power still remains lies with us, here in Imladris, or with Cirdan at the Havens, or in Lorien.  But have they the strength, have we here the strength to withstand the Enemy, the coming of Sauron at the last, when all else is overthrown?’ - - - ‘I have not the strength,’ said Elrond; ‘neither have they.’” pp. 348-349

49. Duty to Destroy the Ring:  “‘Not safe for ever [in the sea],’ said Gandalf.  ‘There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change.  And it is not our part here to take thought ony for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world.  We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one.’”   p. 349

50. The Danger of the Ring – Nothing Evil at First:  [Boromir] “’Let the Ring be your weapon, if it has such power as you say, take it and go forth to victory!’ - - - ‘Alas, no,’ said Elrond.  ‘We cannot use the Ruling Ring.  It belongs to Sauron and was made by him alone, and is altogether evil.  Its strength, Boromir, is too great for anyone to wield at will, save only those who have already a great power of their own.  But for them it holds an even deadlier peril.  The very desire of it corrupts the heart.  Consider Saruman.  If any of the Wise should with this Ring overthrow the Lord of Mordor, using his own arts, he would then set himself on Sauron’s throne, and yet another Dark Lord would appear.  And that is another reason why the Ring should be destroyed: as long as it is in the world it will be a danger even to the Wise.  For nothing is evil in the beginning.  Even Sauron was not so.  I fear to take the Ring to hide it.  I will not take the ring to wield it.’ - - - ‘Nor I,’ said Gandalf.”  pp. 350-351

51. The Fate of Durin’s Ring:  “‘Balin will find no ring in Moria,’ said Gandalf.  ‘Thror gave it to Thrain his son, but not Thrain to Thorin.  It was taken with torment from Thrain in the dungeons of Dol Guldur.  I came too late.’” p. 351

52. The Three Elvin Rings:  “‘The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he ever touch them.  But of them it is not permitted to speak.  So much only in this hour of doubt I may now say.  They are not idle.  But they were not made as weapons of war or conquest: that is not their power.  Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained’ . . .  ‘But what then would happen, if the Ruling Ring were destroyed, as you counsel?’ asked Gloin. - - - ‘We know not for certain,’ answered Elrond sadly.  ‘Some hope that the Three Rings, which Sauron has never touched, would then become free, and their rulers might heal the hurts of the world that he has wrought.  But maybe when the One has gone, the Three will fail, and many fair things will fade and be forgotten.  That is my belief. - - - Yet all the Elves are willing to endure this chance,’ said Glorfindel, ‘if by it the power of Sauron may be broken, and the fear of his dominion be taken away for ever.’”  p. 352

53. Saron’s Flaw:  [Gandalf] “‘. . . let folly be our cloak, a veil before the eyes of the Enemy!  For he is very wise, and weighs all things to a nicety in the scales of his malice.  But the only measure that he knows is desire, desire for power; and so he judges all hearts.  Into his heart the thought will not enter that any will refuse it, that having the Ring we may seek to destroy it.  If we seek this, we shall put him out of reckoning.’”  pp. 352-353

54. Bilbo the Hero – Again!  Small Hands:  [Elrond] “‘The road must be trod, but it will be very hard.  And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it.  This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong.  Yet 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.’ - - - ‘Very well, very well, Master Elrond!” said Bilbo suddenly.  ‘Say no more!  It is plain enough what you are pointing at.  Bilbo the silly hobbit started this affair, and Bilbo had better finish it, or himself.  I was very comfortable here, and getting on with my book.  If you want to know, I am just writing an ending for it.  I had thought of putting: and he lived happily ever afterwards to the end of his days.  It is a good ending, and none the worse for having been used before.  Now I shall have to alter that: it does not look like coming true; and anyway there will evidently have to be several more chapters, if I live to write them. It is a frightful nuisance.  When ought I to start? - - - Boromir looked in surprise at Bilbo, but the laughter died on his lips when he saw that all the others regarded the old hobbit with grave respect.  Only Gloin smiled, but his smile came from old memories.  ‘Of course, my dear Bilbo,’ said Gandalf.  ‘If you had really started this affair, you might be expected to finish it.  But you know well enough now that starting is too great a claim for any, and that only a small part is played in great deeds by any hero.’”  p. 353

55. Frodo’s Choice and the Limits of Knowledge:  “‘. . . At last with an effort he [Frodo] spoke, and wondered to hear his own words, as if some other will was using his small voice. - - - ‘I will take the Ring,’ he said, ‘though I do not know the way.’ - - - ‘Elrond raised his eyes and looked at him, and Frodo felt his heart pierced by the sudden keenness of the glance. ‘If I understand aright all that I have heard he said, ‘I think that this task is appointed for you, Frodo; and that if you do not find a way, no one will.  This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the great.  Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it?  Or, if they are wise, why should they expect to know it, until the hour has struck? - - - ‘But it is a heavy burden.  So heavy that none could lay it on another.  I do not lay it on you.  But if you take it freely, I will say that your choice is right; and thought all the mighty elf-friend of old, Hador, and Hurin, and Thrin, and Beren himself were assembled together, your seat should be among them.’”  pp. 354-355

56. Sam Also Volunteers:  “‘But you won’t send him off alone surely, Master?’ cried Sam, unable to contain himself any longer, and jumping up from the corner where he had been quietly sitting on the floor. - - - ‘No indeed!’ said Elrond, turning towards him with a smile.  ‘You at least shall go with him.  It is hardly possible to separate you from hi, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not.’”  p. 355

57. Merry and Pippen’s Determination:  “‘I don’t wonder,’ said Merry, ‘and I wish you could.  But we are envying Sam, not you.  If you have to go, then it will be a punishment for any of us to be left behind. Even in Rivendell.  We have come a long way with you and been through some stiff times.  We want to go on.’” p. 356

58. The Calling of the Nine Walkers:  “‘The Company of the Ring shall be Nine; and the Nine Walkers shall be set against the Nine Riders that hare evil.  With you and your faithful servant, Gandalf will go; for this shall be his great ask, and maybe the end of his labors.’ - - - ‘For the rest, they shall represent the other Free Peoples of the World: Elves, Dwarves, and Men.  Legolas shall be for the Elves; and Gimli son of Gloin for the Dwarves.  They are willing to go at least to the passes of the Mountains, and maybe beyond.  For men you shall have Aragorn son of Arathorn, for the Ring of Isildur concerns him closely.’ - - - . . .  ‘Boromir will also be in the Company.  He is a valiant man.’ - - - ‘There remain two more to be found,’ said Elrond.  ‘These I will consider.  Of my household I may find some that it seems good to me to send.’ - - - ‘But that will leave no place for us!’ cried Pippen in dismay.  ‘We don’t want to be left behind.  We want to go with Frodo.’ - - - ‘That is because you do not understand and cannot imagine what lies ahead,’ said Elrond. - - - ‘Neither does Frodo,’ said Gandalf, unexpectedly supporting Pippin.  ‘Nor do any of us see clearly.  It is true that if these hobbits understood the danger, they would not dare to go.  But they would still wish to go, or wish that they dared, and be shamed and unhappy.   I think Elrond, that in this matter it would be well to trust rather to their friendship than to great wisdom.  Even if you choose for us an elf-lord, such as Glorfindel, he could not storm the Dark Tower, nor open the road to the Fire by the power that is in him.’ - - - ‘You speak gravely,’ said Elrond, ‘but I am in doubt.  The Shire, I forebode, is not free now from peril; and these two I had thought to send back there as messengers, to do what they could, according to the fashion of their country, to warn the people of their danger.  In any case, I judge that the younger of these two, Pergrin Took, should remain.  My heart is against his going.’ - - - ‘Then, Master Elrond, you will have to lock me in prison, or send me home tied in a sack,’ said Pippin.  ‘For otherwise I shall follow the Company.’ - - - ‘Let it be so then.   You shall go,’ said Elrond, and he sighed.  ‘Now the tale of Nine is filled.  In seven days the Company must depart.’”   pp. 361-362

59. Bilbo’s Gifts to Frodo: Sting and the Mail Coat:  “‘He [Bilbo] took from the box a small sword in an old shabby leathern scabbard.  Then he drew it, and its polished and well-tended blade glittered suddenly, cold and bright.  ‘This is Sting,’ he said, and thrust it with little effort deep into a wooden beam.  ‘Take it, if you like.  I shan’t want it again, I expect.’ - -- Frodo accepted it gratefully. - - - ‘Also there is this!’ said Bilbo, bringing out a parcel which seemed to be rather heavy for its size.  He unwound several folds of old cloth, and held up a small shirt of mail.  It was close-woven of many rings, as supple almost as linen, cold as ice, and harder than steel.  It shone like moonlit silver, and was studded with white gems.  With it was a belt of pearl and crystal. - - -‘It’s a pretty thing, isn’t it?’ said Bilbo, moving it in the light.  ‘And useful.  It is my dwarf-mail that Thorin gave me,’ . . . - - - I cannot thank you as I should, Bilbo, for this, and for all you past kindnesses,’ said Frodo.” pp. 363-364

60.  Virtue of the Elves:  “‘There is a wholesome air about Hollin.  Much evil must befall a country before it wholly forgets the Elves, if once they dwelt there.’  - - - ‘That is true,’ said Legolas.  ‘But the Elves of this land were of a race strange to us of the sylvan folk, and the trees and the grass do not now remember them.  Only I hear the stones lament them: deep they delved us, fair they wrought us, high they builded us; but they are gone.  They are gone.  They sought the Havens long ago.’”   p. 371

61. Gandalf Wants to Go through Moria:  [Gandalf]  “‘ . . . there is another way, and not by the pass of Caradhras: the dark and secret way that we have spoken of.’ [Aragorn]  ‘But let us not speak of it again!  Not yet. Say nothing to the others, I beg, not until it is plain that there is no other way’ . . . He [Frodo] was relieved.  He could not guess what was the other dark and secret way, but the very mention of it had seemed to fill Aragorn with dismay, and Frodo was glad that it had been abandoned.’”  p. 375

62. Evils Older than Saron:  “‘There are many evil and unfriendly things in the world that have little love for those that go on two legs, and yet are not in league with Sauron, but have purposed of their own.  Some  have been in the world longer than he.’”  p. 378

63. Elves over Snow:  “Legolas watched them for a while with a smile upon his lips, and then he turned to the others.  ‘The strongest must seek a way, say you?  But I say: let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running light over grass and leaf, or over snow—an Elf.’  With that he sprang forth nimbly, and then Frodo noticed as if for the first time, though he had long know it, that the Elf had no boots, but wore only light shoes, as he always did, and his feet made little imprint in the snow.  - - - ‘Farwell!’ he said to Gandalf.  ‘I go to find the Sun!’ Then swift as a runner over firm sand he shot away, and quickly overtaking the toiling men, with a wave of his had he passed them, and sped into the distance, and vanished round the rocky turn.”   pp. 381-382

64. Gandalf on Moria:  “‘There is a way that we may attempt,’ said Gandalf.  ‘I thought from the beginning, when first I considered this journey, that we should try it.  But it is not a pleasant way, and I have not spoken of it to the Company before.  Aragorn was against it, until the pass over the mountains had at least been tried.’”   pp. 385-386

65. Gandalf Beware:  [Gandalf]  “ ‘ . . . who will follow me, if I lead you there [Moria] ?’” - - - ‘I will,’ said Gimli eagerly. - - - ‘I will,’ said Aragorn heavily.  ‘You followed my lead almost to disaster in the snow, and have said no word of blame.  I will follow your lead now—if that’s last warning does not move you.  It is not the Ring, nor of us others that I am thinking now, but of you, Gandalf.  And I say to you: if you pass the doors of Moria, beware!’”  p. 388

66. Inscription on the Doors:  “‘The words are in the elven-tongue of the West of Middle-earth in the Elder Days,’ answered Gandalf.  ‘But they do not say anything of importance to us.  They say only:  The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria.  Speak, friend, and enter.  And underneath small and faint is written: I, Narvi, made them.  Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs. - - - ‘What does it mean by speak, friend, and enter?’ asked Merry. - - - ‘That is plain enough,’ said Gimli.  ‘If you are a friend, speak the password,. And the doors will open, and you can enter.’”  

67. The Answer to the Riddle – Thanks to Merry:  “With a suddenness that startled them all the wizard sprang to his feet.  He was laughing!  ‘I have it!’ he cried.  ‘Of course, of course!  Absurdly simple, like most riddles when you see the answer.’ - - - Picking up his staff he stood before the rock and said in a clear voice: ‘Mellon!’  . . . ‘I was wrong after all,’ said Gandalf, ‘and Gimli too.  Merry, of all people, was on the right track.  The opening word was inscribed on the archway all the time!  The translation should have been:  Say “Friend” and enter.’”  p. 401-402

68. Sam Frees Frodo:  “Out from the water a long sinuous tentacle had crawled; it was pale-green and luminous and wet.  Its fingered end had hold of Frodo’s foot, and was dragging him into the water.  Sam on his knees was now slashing at it with a knife. - - - The arm let go of Frodo, and Sam pulled him away, crying out for help.”   p. 402

69. Aragorn on Gandalf:  “‘Do not be afraid!’ said Aragorn . . . ‘ Do not be afraid! I have been with him on many a journey, if never on one so dark; and there are tales of Rivendell of greater deeds of his than any that I have seen.  He will not go astray—if there is any path to find.  He has led us in here against our fears, but he will lead us out again, at whatever cost to himself.  He is surer of finding the way home in a blind night then the cats of Queen Beruthiel.’”  p. 405

70. Gollum’s Foot Falls:  “Yet Frodo began to hear, or to imagine that he heard, something else: like the faint fall of soft bare feet.  It was never loud enough, or near enough, for him to feel certain that he heard it; but once it had started it never stopped, while the Company was moving.  But it was not an echo, for when they halted it pattered on for a little all by itself, and then grew still.”  p. 407

71. Let the Guide Go First:  “‘One of you might have fallen in and still be wondering when you were going to strike the bottom,’ said Aragorn to Merry.  ‘Let the Guide go first while you have one.’”   p. 408

72. Gandalf Let Them Sleep:  “The last thing that Pippin saw, as sleep took him, was a dark glimpse of the old wizard huddled on the floor, shielding a glowing chip in his gnarled hands between his knees.  The flicker for a moment showed his sharp nose, and the puff of smoke.  - - - It was Gandalf who roused them all from sleep.  He had sat and watched all alone for about six hours, and had let the others rest.”  p. 409

73. On Mithril and Bilbo’s Mail-shirt:  “’Then what do the dwarves want to come back for?’ asked Sam. - - - For mithril.’ Answered Gandalf.  ‘The wealth of Moria was not in gold and jewels, the toys of the Dwarves; nor in iron, their servant.  Such things they found here, it is true, especially iron; but they did not need to delve for them:  all things that they desired they could obtain in traffic.  For here alone in the world was found Moria –silver or true-silver as some have called it: mithril is the Elvish name. - - -  The lodes lead away north towards Caradhras, and down to darkness.  The Dwarves tell no tale; but even as mithril was the foundation of their wealth, so also it was their destruction: they delved too greedily and too deep, and disturbed that from which they fled, Durin’s Bane.  Of what they brought to light the Orcs have gathered nearly all, and given it in tribute to Sauron, who covets it. - - - Mithril!  All folk desire it.  It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the Dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel.  Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty of mithril did not tarnish or grow dim.  The Elves dearly loved it, and among many uses they made of it ithildin, starmoon, which you saw upon the doors.  Bilbo had a corslet of mithril-rings that Thorin gave him.  I wonder what has become of it?  Gathering dust still in Michel Delving Museum, I suppose.’ - - - ‘What?’ cried Gimli, startled out of his silence.  ‘A corslet of Moria-silver?  That was a kingly gift!’ - - - ‘Yes,’ said Gandalf.  ‘I never told him, but its worth was greater than the value of the whole Shire and everything in it.’ - - - Frodo said nothing, but he put his hand under his tunic and touched the rings of his mail-shirt.  He felt staggered to think that he had been walking about with the price of the Shire under his jacket.  Had Bilbo known?  He felt no doubt that Bilbo knew quite well.  It was indeed a kingly gift.”  p. 414

74. The Grave of Balin – Bilbo’s Friend:  “The Company of the Ring stood silent beside the tomb of Balin.  Frodo thought of Bilbo and his long friendship with the dwarf, and of Balin’s visit to the Shire long ago.  In the dusty chamber in the mountains it seemed a thousand years ago and on the other side of the world.”  p. 417

75. They Are Coming – We Can Not Get Out:  “‘They are coming!’ cried Legolas. - - - ‘We cannot get out,’ said Gimli. - - - ‘Trapped!’ cried Gandalf.  ‘Why did I delay?  Heree we are, caught, just as they were before.  But I was not here then.‘”   p. 420

76. Frodo Attacks a Troll:  “Suddenly, and to his own surprise, Frodo felt a hot wrath blaze up in his heart.  ‘The Shire!’  he cried, and springing beside Boromir, he stooped, and stabbed with Sting at the hideous foot.  There was a bellow, and the foot jerked back, nearly wrenching Sting from Frodo’s arm.  Black drops dripped form the blade and smoked on the floor.  Boromir hurled himself against the door and slammed it again. - - -‘One for the Shire!’ cried Aragorn.  ‘The hobbit’s bite is deep!  You have a good blade, Frodo son of Drogo!’”  pp. 421-422

77. Sam Has Killed an Orc:  “When thirteen had fallen the rest fled shirking, leaving the defenders unharmed, except for Sam who had a scratch along the scalp.  A quick duck had saved him; and he had felled his orc: a sturdy thrust with his Barrow-blade.  A fire was shouldering in his brown eyes that would have made Ted Sandyman step backwards, if he had seen it.”  p. 422

78. The Coming of the Balrog:  He [Legolas] drew, but his hand fell, and the arrow slipped to the ground.  He gave a cry of dismay and fear.  Two great trolls appeared; they bore great slabs of stone, and flung them down to serve as gangways over the fire.  But it was not the trolls that had filled the Elf with terror.  The ranks of the orcs had opened, and they crowded away, as if they themselves were afraid.  Soething was coming up behind them.  What it was could not be seen: it was like a great shadow, in the middle of which was a dark form, of man-shape maybe, yet greater; and a power and terror seemed to be in it and to go before it. - - - It came to the edge of the fire and the light faded as if a cloud had bent over it.  Then with a rush it leaped across the fissure.  The flames roared up to greet, and wreathed about it; and a black smoke swirled in the air. Its streaming mane kindled, and blazed behind it.  In its right hand was a blade like a stabbing tougue of fire; in its lert it held a whip of many thongs. - - -‘Ai, ai!’ wailed Legolas.  ‘A Balrog!  A Balrog is come!’ - - - Gimli stared with wide eyes.  ‘Durin’s Bane!’ he cried, and letting his axe fall he covered his face. - - - ‘A balrog.’ muttered Gamdalf.  ‘Now I understand.’  He faltered and leaned heavily on his staff.  ‘What an evil fortune!  And I am already weary.’ - - - The dark figure streaming with fire raced towards them.  The orcs yelled and poured over the stone gangways.  The Boromir raised his horn and blew.  Loud the challenge rang and bellowed, like the shout of many throats under the cavernous roof.  For a moment the orcs quailed and the fiery shadow halted.  Then the echoes died a suddenly as a flame blown out by a dark wind, and the enemy advanced again. - - - ‘Over the bridge!’ cried Gandalf, recalling his strength.  ‘Fly!  This is a foe beyond any of you.  I must hold the narrow way.  Fly!’  Aragorn and Boromir did not heed the command, but still held their ground, side by side, behind Gandalf at the far end of the bridge.  The others halted just within the doorway at the hall’s end, and turned, unable to leave their leader to face the enemy alone. - - - The Balrog reached the bridge.  Gandalf stood in the middle of the span, leaning on the staff in his left hand, but in his other hand Glamdring gleamed, cold and white.  His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings.  It raised the whip and the thongs whined and cracked.  Fire came from its nostrils.  But Gandalf stood firm. - - - ‘You cannot pass,’ he said.  The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell.  ‘I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor.  You cannot pass.  The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun.  Go back to the Shadow!  You cannot pass.’ - - - The Balrog made no answer.  The fire in it seemed to die, but the darkness grew.  It stepped forward slowly on the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall; but still Gandalf could be seen, glimmering in the gloom; he seemed small, and altogether alone: gray and bent, like a wizened tree before the onset of a storm. - - - From out of the shadow a red sword leaped flaming. - - - Glmdring glittered white in answer. - - - There was a ringing clash and a stab of white fire.  The Balrog fell back and its sword flew up in molten fragments.  The wizard swayed on the bridge, stepped back a pace, and then again stood still. - - - ‘You cannot pass!’ he said. - - - With a bound the Balrog leaped full upon the bridge.  Its whip whirled and hissed. - - - ‘He cannot stand alone!’ cried Aragorn suddenly and ran back along the bridge.  ‘Elendil!’ he shouted.  ‘I am with you, Gandalf!’ - - - Gondor!’ cried Boromir and leaped after him. - - - AT that moment Gandalf lifted his staff, and crying aloud he smote the bridge before him.  The staff broke asunder and fell from his hand.  A blinding sheet of white flame sprang up.  The bridge cracked.  Right at the Balrogs’ feet it broke, and the stone upon which it stood crashed into the gulf, while the rest remained, poised, quivering like a tongue of rick thrust out into emptiness. - - - Wit a terrible cry the Balrog fell forward, and its shadow plunge down and vanished.  But even as it fell it swung it ship, and the thongs lashed and curled about the wizard’s knees, dragging him to the brink. He staggered, and fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss.  ‘Fly, you fools!’ he cried, and was gone.”  pp. 428-430

79. The Trees of Lothlorien:  “‘There lie the woods of Lothlorien!’ said Legolas.  ‘That is the fairest of all the dwellings of my people.  There are no trees like the trees of that land.  For in the autumn their leaves fall not, but turn to gold.  Not till the spring comes and the new green opens do they fall, and then the boughs are laden with yellow flowers; and the floor of the wood is golden, and golden is the roof, and its pillars are of silver, for the bark of the trees is smooth and grey.’” p. 434

80.  “Dangers” of Lothlorien:  “‘Say not unscathed, but if you say unchanged, then maybe you will speak the truth,’ said Aragorn.  ‘But lore wanes in Godor, Boromir, if in the city of those who once were wise they now speak evil of Lothlorien.   Believe what you will, there is no other way for us—unless you would go back to Moria-gate, or scale the pathless mountains, or swim the Great River all alone.’ - - - ‘Then lead on!’ said Boromir.  ‘But it is perilous.’ - - - ‘Perilous indeed,’ said Aragorn, ‘fair and perilous; but only evil need fear it, or those who bring some evil with them.  Follow me!’”   p. 439

81. Frodo’s “Skin” Discovered:  “‘I am all right,’ said Frodo, reluctant to have his garments touched.  ‘All I needed was some food and a little rest.’ - - - ‘No!’ said Aragorn.  ‘We must have a look and see what the hammer and the anvil have done to you.  I still marvel that you are alive at all.’  Gently he stripped off Frodo’s old jacket and worn tunic, and gave a grasp of wonder.  Then he laughed.  The silver corslet shimmered before his eyes like the light upon a rippling sea.  Carefully he took it off and held it up, and the gems on it glittered like stars, and the sound of the shaken rings was like the tinkle of rain in a pool. - - - ‘Look, my friends!’ he called.  ‘Here’s a pretty hobbit-skin to wrap an elven-princeling in!  If it were known that hobbits had such hides, all the hunters of Middle-earth would be riding to the Shire.’ - - - ‘And all the arrows of all the hunters in the world would be in vain,’ said Gimli, gazing at the mail in wonder.  ‘It is a mithril-coat.  Mithril!  I have never seen or heard tell of one so fair.  Is this the coat that Gandalf spoke of?  The he undervalued it.  But it was well given!’ - - - ‘I have often wondered what you and ilbo were doing so close in his little room,’ said Merry.  ‘Bless the old hobbit!  I love him more than ever.  I hope we get a chance of telling him about it!’” p. 437

82. Folly of Mistrust:  “‘Alas for the folly of these days!’ said Legolas.  ‘Here all are enemies of the one Enemy, and yet I must walk blind, while the sun is merry in the woodland under leaves of gold!’ - - - ‘Folly it may seem,’ said Haldir.  ‘Indeed in nothing is the power of the Dark Lord more clearly shown than in the estrangement that divides all those who still oppose him.’”   p. 451

82. Elves and the Sea:  “‘Happy folk are Hobbits to dwell near the shores of the sea!’ said Haldir. ‘It is long indeed since any of my folk have looked on it, yet still we remember it in song.’”   p. 452

84. Frodo’s First View of Lothlorien:  “The others cast themselves down upon the fragrant grass but Frodo stood awhile still lost in wonder.  It seemed to him that he had stepped through a high window that looked on a vanished world.  A light was upon it for which his language had no name.  All that he saw was shapely, but the shapes seemed at once clear cut, as it they had been first conceived and drawn at the uncovering of his eyes, and ancient as if they had endured for ever.  He saw no colour but those he knew, gold and white and blue and green, but they were fresh and poignant, as if he had at that moment first perceived them and made for them names new and wonderful.  In winter here no heart could mourn for summer or for spring.  No blemish or sickness or deformity could be seen in anything that grew upon the earth.  On the land of Lorien there was no stain.  - - - He turned and saw that Sam was now standing beside him, looking round with a puzzled expression, and rubbing his eyes as if he was not sure that he was awake.  ‘It’s sunlight and bright day, right enough,’ he said.  ‘I thought that Elves were all for moon and stars: but this is more elvish than anything I ever heard tell of.  I feel as if I was inside a song, if you take my meaning.’ - - - . . . ‘You feel the power of the Lady of the Galadrim,’ he [Haldir] said.  ‘Would it please you to climb with me up Cerin Amroth?’ - - - They followed him as he stepped lightly up the grass-clad slopes.  Though he walked and breathed, and about him living leaves and flowers were stirred by the same cool wind as fanned his face, Frodo felt that he was in a timeless land that did not fade or change or fall into forgetfulness.  When he had gone and passed again into the outer world, still Frodo the wanderer from the Shire would walk there, upon the grass among elanor and niphredil in fair Lothlorien.”  pp. 454-455

85. Feeling a Tree:  “As Frodo prepared to follow him [Haldir], he laid his hand upon the tree beside the ladder: never before had he been so suddenly and so keenly aware of the feel and texture of a tree’s skin and of the life within it.  He felt a delight in wood, and the touch of it, neither as forester nor as carpenter; it was the delight of the living tree itself.”  p. 455

86. Lothorien’s Effect on Aragorn:  “At the hill’s foot Frodo found Aragorn, standing still and silent as a tree; but in his hand was a small golden bloom of elenor, and a light was in his eyes.  He was wrapped in some fair memory: and as Frodo looked at him he knew that he beheld things as they once had been in this same place.  For the grim years were removed from the face of Aragorn, and he seemed clothed in white, a young lord tall and fair; and he spoke words in the Elvish tongue to one whom Frodo could not see.  Arwen vanimelda, namarie! he said, and then he drew a breath, and returning out of his thought he looked at Frodo and smiled. - - - ‘Here is the heart of Elvendom on earth,’ he said, ‘and here my heart dwells ever, unless there be a light beyond the dark roads that we still must tread, you and I.  Come with me!’ And taking Frodo’s hand in his, he left the hill of Cerin Amroth and came there never again as living man.”  p. 456

87. Celeborn and Galadriel:  “On Two chairs beneath the bole of the tree and canopied by a living bough there sat, side by side, Celeborn and Galadriel.  They stood up to greet their guests, after the manner of Elves, even those who were accounted mighty kings.  Very tall they were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord; and they were grave and beautiful.  They were clad wholly in white; and the hair of the Lady was of deep gold, and the hair of the Lord Celeborn was of silver long and bright. But no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the starlight, and yet profound, the wells of deep memory.”  p. 459

88.  Celeborn’s Welcome to Gimli:  “‘Welcome Gimli son of Gloin!  It is long indeed since we saw one of Durin’s folk in Caras Galado.  But today we have broken our long law.  May it be a sign that though the world is now dark better days are at hand, and that friendship shall be renewed between our peoples.’  Gimli bowed low.”  p. 459

89. Legolas Names the Balrog:  “‘It was a Balrog of Morgoth,’ said Legolas; ‘of all elf-banes the most deadly, save the One who sits in the Dark Tower.’”  p. 461

90. Galadriel on Gandalf and Gimli:  “‘Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life.  Those that followed him knew not his mind and cannot report his full purpose.  But however it may be with the guide, the followers are blameless.  Con not repent of your [Celeborn’s] welcome to the Dwarf.  If our folk had been exiled long and far from Lothlorien, who of the Baladrim, even Celeborn the Wise, would pass nigh and would not wish to look upon their ancient home, though it had become an abode of dragons?’ - - - ‘Dark is the water of Kheled-zaram, and cold are the springs of Kibil-nala, and fair were the many-pillared halls of Khazad-dum in Elder days before the fall of mighty kings beneath the stone.’   She looked upon Gimili, who hearing the names given in his own ancient tongue, looked up and met her eyes; and it seemed to him that he looked suddenly into the heart of an enemy and saw there love and understanding. Wonder came into his face, and then he smiled in answer. - - - He rose clumsily and bowed in dwarf-fashion, saying: ‘yet more fair is the living land of Lorien, and the Lady Galadriel is above all the jewels that lie beneath the earth!’  p. 461

91. Aragorn to Boromir on the Lady Galadriel and No Evil in Lorien:  “‘Speak no evil of the Lady Galadriel!’ said Aragorn sternly.  ‘You know not what you say.  There is in her and in this land no evil, unless a man bring it hither himself.  Then let him beware!  But tonight I shall sleep without fear for the first time since I left Rivendell.’”   p. 464

92. Legolas and Gimil in Lorien:  “Legolas was away much among the Galadrim, and after the first night he did not sleep with the other companions, though he returned to eat and talk with them.  Often he took Gimli with him when he went abroad in the land, and the others wondered at this change.”  pp. 464-465

93. As My Old Gaffer Used to Say: [Sam] “‘It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish, as my old gaffer used to say.’”  p. 467

94. The Power of the Mirror:  “‘Many things I can command the Mirror to reveal,’ she answered, ‘and to some I can show what they desire to see.  But the Mirror will also show things unbidden, and those are often stranger and more profitable than things which we wish to behold.’‘’  p. 469

95. Merry Is the One:  [Sam] “‘There’s some devilry at work in the Shire,’ he said.  ‘Elrond knew what he was about when he wanted to send Mr. Merry back.’”  p. 469

96. How Fate Works:  “. . . ‘Remember that the Mirror shows many things, and not all have yet come to pass.  Some never come to be, unless those that behold the visions turn aside from their path to prevent them.  The Mirror is dangerous as a guide of deeds.’”   p. 470

97. Galadriel, Advice – Like Wood Badge:  “‘Do you now wish to look, Frodo?’ said the Lady Galadriel.  ‘You did not wish to see Elf-magic and were content.’ - - - ‘Do you advise me to look?’ asked Frodo. - - - ‘No,’ she said.  ‘I do not counsel you one way or the other.  I am not a counsellor.  You may learn something, and whether what you see be fair or evil, that may be profitable, and yet it may not.  Seeing is both good and perilous.  Yet I think, Frodo, that you have courage and wisdom enough for the venture. Or I would not have brought you here.  Do as you will!’”  p. 470 

98. The Eye:  “But suddenly the Mirror went altogether dark, as dark as if a hole had opened in the world of sight, and Frodo looked into emptiness.  In the black abyss there appeared a single Eye that slowly grew, until it filled nearly all the Mirror.  So terrible was it that Frodo stood rooted, unable to cry out or to withdraw his gaze.  The Eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat’s, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on a pit, a window into nothing. - - - Then the Eye began to rove, searching this way and that; and Frodo knew with certainty and horror that among the many things that it sought he himself was one.  But he also knew that it could not see him—not yet, not unless he willed it.  The Ring that hung upon its chain about his neck grew heavy, heavier than a great stone, and his head was dragged downwards.  The Mirror seemed to be growing hot and curls of steam were rising from the water.  He was slipping forward. - - - ‘Do not touch the water!’ said the Lady Galadriel softly.  The vision faded, and Frodo found that he was looking at the cool stars twinkling in the silver basin.   He stepped back shaking all over and looked at the Lady.”  pp. 471-472

99. Galadriel Reveals Her Ring and Its Power:  “‘I know what it was that you last saw,’ she said; ‘for that is also in my mind.  Do not be afraid!  But do not think that only by singing amid the trees, nor even by the slender arrows of elven-bows, is this land of Lothlorien maintained and defended against its Enemy.  I say to you Frodo, that even as I speak to you, I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves.  And he gropes ever to see me and my thought.  But still the door is closed!’ - - - She lifted up her white arms, and spread out her hands towards the East in a gesture of rejection and denial.  Earendil, the Evening Star, most beloved of Elves, shone clear above. So bright was it that the figure of the Elven-lady cast a dim shadow on the ground.  Its rays glanced upon a ring about her finger; it glittered like polished gold overlaid with silver light, and a white stone in it twinkled as if the Even-star had come down to rest upon her hand.  Frodo gazed at the ring with awe; for suddenly it seemed to him that he understood. - - - ‘Yes,’ she said, divining his thought, ‘it is not permitted to speak of it, and Elrond could not do so.  But it cannot be hidden from the Ring-bearer, and one who has seen the Eye.  Verily it is in the land of Lorien upon the finger of Galadriel that one of the Three remains.  This is Neya, the Ring of Adamant, and I am its keeper. - - - ‘He suspect but does not know—not yet.’”  p. 472

100. The Fate of the Elves:  “‘Do you [Frodo] not see now wherefore your coming is to us as the footstep of Doom?  For if you fail, then we are laid bare to the Enemy.  Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlorien will fade, and the tides of Time will sweep it away,  We must depart into the West, or dwindle to a rustic folk of dell and cave, slowly to forget and to be forgotten’”   p. 472

101. Freedom the Terminal Value:  “Frodo bent his head.  ‘And what do you wish?’ he said at last. - - - ‘That what should be shall be,’ she answered.  ‘The love of the Elves for their land and their works is deeper than the deeps of the Sea, and their regret is undying and cannot ever wholly be assuaged.  Yet they will cast all away rather than submit to Sauron: for they know him now.  For the fate of Lothlorien you are not answerable, but only for the doing of your own task.  Yet I could wish, were it of any avail, that the One Ring had never been wrought, or had remained for ever lost.’”  p. 473

102. Galadriel Declines the Ring:  “‘You are wise and fearless and fair, Lady Galadriel,’ said Frodo.   ‘I will give you the One Ring, if you ask for it.  It is too great a matter for me.’ - - - Galadriel laughed with a sudden clear laugh.  ‘Wise the Lady Galadriel may be,’ she said, ‘yet here she has met her match in courtesy.  Gently are you revenged for my testing of your heart at our first meeting.  You begin to see with a keen eye. I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired to ask what you offer.  For may long years I have pondered what I might do, should the Great Ring come into my hands, and behold! It was brought within my grasp.  The evil that was devised long ago works on in many ways, whether Sauron himself stands or falls.  Would not that have been a noble deed to set to the credit of his Ring, if I had taken it by force or fear from my guest? - - - And now at last it comes.  You will give me the Ring freely!  In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen.  And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night!  Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain!  Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning!  Stronger than the foundations of the earth.  All shall love me and despair!’ - - - She lifted up her hand and from the ring that she wore there issued a great light that illumined her alone and left all else dark.  She stood before Frodo seeming now tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful. Then she let her hand fall, and the light faded, and suddenly she laughed again, and lo!  She was shrunken: a slender elf-woman, clad in simple white, whose gentle voice was soft and sad. - - - ‘I pass the test,’ she said.  ‘I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.’”  pp. 475-476

103. On the Power of the Ring:  [Frodo] “‘I am permitted to wear the One Ring:  why cannot I see all the others and know the thoughts of those that wear them?’ - - - ‘You have not tried,’ she [Galadriel] said.  ‘Only thrice have you set the Ring upon your finger since you knew what you possessed.  Do not try!  It would destroy you.  Did not Gandalf tell you that the rings give power according to the measure of each possessor?  Before you could use that power you would need to become far stronger, and to train your will to the domination of others.  Yet even so as Ring-bearer and as one that had borne it on finger and seen that which is hidden, your sight is grown keener.  You have perceived my thought more clearly than many that are accounted wise.  You saw the Eye of him that holds the Seven and the Nine.  And did you not see and recognize the ring upon my finger?  Did you see my ring?’ she asked turning again to Sam. - - - “no, Lady,’ he answered.’”  p. 474

104. Merry, Again:  [Celeborn] “‘There are some among you who can handle boats: Legolas, whose folk know the swift Forest River; and Boromir of Gondor; and Aragorn the traveler.’ - - - ‘And one Hobbit!’ cried Merry.  ‘Not all of us look on boats as wild horses.  My people live by the banks of the Brandywine.’”  p. 476

105. Fate:  “‘Good night, my friends!’ said Galadriel.  ‘Sleep in peace!  Do not trouble your hearts overmuch with thought of the road tonight.  Maybe the paths that you each shall tread are already laid before your feet, though you do not see them. Good night!’”   pp. 476-477

106.  Gifts from the Elves:  “In the morning, as they were beginning to pack their slender goods, Elves that could speak their tongue came to them and brought them many gifts of food and clothing for the journey.  The food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of a meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the color of cream.  Gimil took up one of the cakes and looked at it with a doubtful eye. - - - ‘Cram’ he said under his breath, as he broke off a crisp corner and nibbled at it.  His expression guickly changed, and he ate all the rest of the cake with relish. - - - No more, no more!’ cried the Elves laughing.  ‘You have eaten enough already for a long day’s march.’ - - - ‘I thought it was only a kind of cram, such as the Dale-men make for journeys in the wild,’ said the Dwarf. - - - ‘So it is,’ they answered.  ‘But we call it lembas or waybread, and it is more strengthening than any food made by Men, and it is more pleasant the cram, by all accounts.’  - - - ‘Indeed it is,’ said Gimli. - - - . . . ‘Eat a little at a time, and only at need .  For these things are given to serve you when all else fails.  The cakes will keep sweat for many many days, if they are unbroken and left in their leaf wrappings, as we have brought them.   One will keep a traveler on his feet for a day of long labor, even if he be one of the tall Men of Minas Tirith.’ - - - The Elves next unwrapped and gave to each of the Company the clothes they had brought.  For each they had provided a hood and cloak, made according to his size, of the light but warm silken stuff that the Galadrim wove.  It was hard to say of what color they were: grey with the hue of twilight under the trees they seemed to be; and yet if they were moved. Or set in another light, they were green as shadowed leaves, or brown as fallow fields by night, dusk0silver as water under the stars.  Each cloak was fastened about the neck with a brooch like green leaf veined with silver. - - - ‘Are these magic cloaks?’ asked Pippin, looking at them with wonder. - - - ‘I do not know what you mean by that,’ answered the leader of the Elves. ‘They are fair garments, and the web is good, for it was made in this land.  They are elvish robes certainly if that is what you mean.  Leaf and branch, water and stone: they have the hue and beauty of all these things under the twilight of Lorien that we love; for we put the thought of all that we love into all that we make.  Yet they are garments, not armour, and they will not turn shaft or blade.  But they should serve you well: they are light to wear, and warm enough or cool enough at need.  And you will find them a great aid in keeping out of the sight of unfriendly eyes, whether you walk among the stones or the trees. You are indeed high in favor of the Lady!  For she herself and her maidens wove this stuff; and never before have we clad strangers in the garb of our own people.’”   pp. 478-479

107. Legolas and Gimli:  “The Company was arranged in this way:  Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam were in one boat; Boromir, Merry, and Pippin in another; and in the third were Legolas and Gimli, who had now become fast friends.”  p. 481

108. How Men Come to See the Elves:  “Already she [Galadriel] seemed to him [Frodo] as by men of later days Elves still at times are seen: present and yet remote, a living vision of that which has already been left far behind by the flowing streams of Time.”  p. 483

109. The Value of “Old Wives Tales”:  “‘Then I need say no more,’ said Celeborn.  ‘But 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.’” p. 484

110. The Gifts of Celeborn and Galadriel:  “‘But before you go, I have brought in my ship gifts which the Lord and Lady of the Galadrim now offer you in memory of Lothlorien.’  Then she called them each in turn.

[To Aragorn] ‘Here is the gift of Celeborn and Galadriel to the leader of your Company,’ she said to Aragorn, and she gave him a sheath that had been made to fit his sword.  It was overlaid with a tracery of flowers and leaves wrought in silver and gold, and on it were set in elven-runes formed of many gems the  name Anduril and the linage of the sword. - - - ‘The blade that is drawn from this sheath shall not be stained of broken even in defeat,’ she said.  ‘But is there aught else that you desire of me at our parting?  For darkness will flow between us, and it may be that we shall not meet again, unless it be far hence upon a road that has no returning.’ - - - And Aragorn answered: ‘Lady, you know all my desire, and long held in keeping the only treasure that I seek.  Yet it is not yours to give me, even if you would; and only through darkness shall I come to it.’ - - - ‘Yet maybe this will lighten your heart,’ said Galadriel; ‘for it was left in my care to be given to you, should you pass through this land.’  Then she lifted from her lap a great stone of a clear green, set in a silver brooch that was wrought in the likeness of an eagle with outspread wings; and as she held it up the gem flashed like the sun shining through the leaves of spring.  ‘This stone I gave to Celebrian my daughter, and she to hers; and now it comes to you as a token of home.  In this hour take the name that we foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of the house of Elendil!’

[To Borromir, Merry, Pippin and Legolas] The lady bowed her head, and she turned then to Boromir, and to him she gave a belt of gold; and to Merry and Pippin she gave small silver belts, each with a clasp wrought like a golden flower.  To Legolas she gave a bow such as the Galadrim used, Longer and stouter than the bows of Mirkwood, and strung with a string of elf-hair.  With it went a quiver of arrows.

[To Sam] ‘For you little gardener and lover of trees,’ she said to Sam, ‘I have only a small gift.’   She put into his hand a little box of plain gray wood, unadorned save for a single silver rune upon the lid.  ‘Here is set G for Galadriel,’ she said; ‘but also it may stand for garden in your tongue.  In this box there is earth from my orchard, and such blessing as Galadriel has still to bestow is upon it.  It will not keep you on your road, nor defend you against any peril; but if you deep it and see your home again at last, then perhaps it may reward you.  Though you should find all barren and laid waste, there will be few gardens in Middle-earth that will bloom like your garden, if you sprinkle this earth there.  Then you may remember Galadriel, and catch a glimpse far off of Lorien, that you have seen only in our winter.  For our spring and our summer are gone by and they will never be seen on earth again save in memory.’

[To Gimli] ‘And what gift would a Dwarf ask of the Elves?’ said Galadriel, turning to Gimli. - - - ‘None, Lady,’ answered Gimli.  ‘It is enough for me to have seen the Lady of the Galadrim, and to have heard her gentle words.’ - - - ‘Here all ye Elves!’ she cried to those about her.  ‘Let none say again the Dwarves are grasping and ungracious!  Yet surely, Gimli son of Gloin, you desire something that I could give?  Name it, I bid you!  You shall not be the only guest without a gift.’ - - - ‘There is nothing, unless it might be—unless it is permitted to ask, nay, to name a single strand of your hair, which surpasses the gold of the earth as the stars surpass the gems of the mine.  I do not ask for such a gift.  But you commanded me to name my desire.’ - - - The Elves stirred and murmured with astonishment, and Celeborn gazed at the Dwarf in wonder, but the Lady smiled.  ‘It is said that the skill of the Dwarves is in their hands rather than in their tongues,’ she said; ‘yet that is not true of Gimli.  For none have ever made to me a request so bold and yet so courteous.  And how shall I refuse, since I commanded him to speak?  But tell me, what would you do with such a gift?’ - - - ‘Treasure it, Lady,’ he answered, ‘in memory of your words to me at our first meeting.  And if ever I return to the smithies of my home, it shall be set in imperishable crystal to be an heirloom of my house, and a pledge of good will between the Mountain and the Wood until the end of days.’ - - - Then the Lady unbraided one of her long tresses, and cut off three golden hairs, and laid them in Gimli’s hand.  ‘These words shall go with the gift,’ she said.  ‘I do not foretell, for all foretelling is now vain: on the one hand lies darkness, and on the other only hope.  But if hope should not fail, then I say to you, Gimli son of Gloin, that your hands shall flow with gold, and yet over you gold shall have no dominion.’

[For Frodo] ‘And you, Ring-bearer,’ she said, turning to Frodo.  ‘I come to you last who are not last in my thoughts.  For you I have prepared this.’  She held up a small crystal phial: it glittered as she moved it, and rays of white light sprang from her hand.  ‘In this phial,’ she said, ‘is caught the light of Earendil’s star, set amid the waters of my fountain.  It will shine still brighter when night is about you.  May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.  Remember Galadriel and her Mirror!’ - - - Frodo took the phial, and for a moment as it shone between them, he saw her again standing like a queen, great and beautiful, but no longer terrible.  He bowed, but found no words to say.” pp. 485-488

111. Seeming to Stand Still as the World Slips Away:  “On the green bank near to the very point of the Tongue the Lady Galadriel stood alone and silent.  As they passed her they turned and their eyes watched her slowly floating away from them.  For so it seemed to them: Lorien was slipping backward, like a bright ship masted with enchanted trees, sailing on to forgotten shores, while they sat helpless upon the margin of the grey and leafless world.”  p. 487

112. Gimli’s Tears and Legolas Counsel:  “Gimly wept openly. - - - ‘I have looked the last upon that which was fairest,’ he said to Legolas his companion.  ‘Henceforward I will call nothing fair, unless it be her gift.’  He put his hand to his breast. - - - Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest?  Little did I know where the chief peril lay!  Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road.  Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I know the danger of light and joy.  Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night to the Dark Lord.  Alas for Gimli son of Gloin!’ - - -‘Nay!’ said Legolas . . . ‘But I count you blessed, Gimli son of Gloin: for your loss you suffer of your own free will, and you might have chosen otherwise.  But you have not forsaken your companions, and the least reward that you shall have is that the memory of Lothlorien shall remain ever clear and unstained in your heart, and shall neither fade nor grow stale.’”  p. 490

113. Aragorn Knows of Gollum:  “ ‘Gollum,’ answered Frodo.  ‘Or at least, so I guess.’ - - - ‘Ah!’ said Aragorn.  ‘So you know about our little foot-pad, do you?   He padded after us all through Moria and right down the Nimrodel.  Since we took to boats, he has been lying on a log and paddling with hands and feet.”  p. 497

114. Legolas Shoots the Ring Wrath’s “Beast”:  “Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the night, seeking a mark to shoot at.  His head was dark, crowned with sharp white stars that glittered in the black pools of the sky behind.  But now rising and sailing up from the South the great clouds advanced, sending out dark outriders into the starry fields.  A sudden dread fell on the Company. - - - ‘Ebereth Gilthoniel!’ sighed Legolas as he looked up.  Even as he did so, a dark shape, like a cloud and yet not a cloud, for it moved far more swiftly, came out of the blackness in the South, and sped towards the Company, blotting out all light as it approached.  Soon it appeared as a great winged creature, blacker than the pits in the night.  Fierce voices rose up to greet it from across the water.  Frodo felt a sudden chill running through him and clutching at his heart; there was a deadly cold, like the memory of an old wound, in his shoulder.  He crouched down, as if to hide. - - - Suddenly the great bow of Lorien sang.  Shrill went the arrow from the elven-string.  Frodo looked up.  Almost above him the winged shape swerved.  There was a harsh croaking scream, as it fell out of the air, vanishing down into the gloom of the eastern shore.  The sky was clean again.  There was a tumult of many voices far away, cursing and wailing in the darkness, and then silence.  Neither shaft nor cry came again from the east that night.”  p. 501

115. How Elves Experience Time:  [Legolas] “‘Nay, time does not tarry ever,’ he said; but change and growth is not in all things and place alike.  For the Elves the world moves, and it moves both very swift and very slow.  Swift, because they themselves change little, and all else fleets by: it is a grief to them.  Slow, because they do not count the running years, not for themselves.  The passing seasons are but ripples ever repeated in the long long stream.”  p. 503

116. Arogorn Passes the Gates of the Kings:  “Upon great pedestals founded in the deep waters stood two great kings of stone: still with blurred eyes and crannied brows they frowned upon the North.  The left hand of each was raised palm outwards in gesture of warning; in each right hand there was an axe; upon each head there was a crumbling helm and crown.  Great power and majesty they still wore, the silent wardens of the long-vanished kingdom. - - - ‘Fear not!’ said a strange voice behind him.  Frodo turned and saw Strider, and yet not Strider. For the weatherworn Ranger was no longer there.  In the stern sat Aragorn son of Arathorn, proud and erect, guiding the boat with skillful strokes; his hood  was cast back, and his dark hair was blowing in the wind, a light was in his eyes: a king returning from exile to his own land.”  pp. 508-509

117. Rowan-trees:  “For some while he [Frodo] climbed, not caring which way he went, until he came to a grassy place.  Rowan-trees grew about it, and in the midst was a wide flat stone.”  p. 513

118. Gandalf Battles Saron in the Mind of Frodo:  “. . . suddenly he [Frodo] felt the Eye.  There was an eye in the Dark Tower that did not sleep.  He knew that it had become aware of his gaze.  A fierce eager will was there.  It leaped towards him; almost like a finger he felt it, searching for him.  Very soon it would nail him down, know just exactly where he was.  Amon Lhaw it touched.  It glanced upon Tol Brandir—he threw himself from the seat, crouching, covering his head with his grey hood. - - - He heard himself crying out: Never, never!  Or was it: Verily I come, I come to you?  He could not tell. Then as a flash from some other point of power there came to his mind another thought:  Take it off! Take it off! Fool, take it off!  Take off the Ring! - - - The two powers strove in him.  For a moment, perfectly balanced between their piercing points, he writher, tormented.  Suddenly he was aware of himself again.  Frodo, neither the Voice nor the Eye:  free to choose, and with one remaining instant in which to do so.  He took the Ring off his finger.  He was kneeling in clear sunlight before the high seat.  A black shadow seemed to pass like an arm above him; it missed Amon Hen and groped out west, and faded.  Then all the sky was clean and blue and birds sang in every tree.”  p. 519

119. Frodo Does His Duty:  “Frodo rose to his feet.  A great weariness was on him, but his will was firm and his heart lighter.  He spoke aloud to himself.  ‘I will do now what I must,’ he said.  ‘This at least is plain: the evil of the Ring is already at work even in the Company, and the Ring must leave them before it does more harm.  I will go alone.  Some I cannot trust, and those I can trust are too dear to me:  poor old Sam, and Merry and Pippin.  Strider, too: his heart yearns for Minas Tirith, and he will be needed there, now Boromir has fallen into evil.  I will go alone.  At once.’”   pp. 519-520

120. Elrond More Powerful than Gondor:   [Aragorn]  “‘We may remain there for a while and make a brave stand; but the Lord Denethor and all his men cannot hope to do what even Elrond said was beyond his power: either to keep the Burden secret, or to hold off the full might of the Enemy when he come to take it.’” pp. 520-521

121. Wisdom of Sam:  “‘If he screws himself up to go, he’ll want to go alone.  Mark my words!  We’re going to have trouble when he comes back.  For he’ll screw himself up all right, a sure as his name’s Baggins,’ - - - ‘I believe you speak more wisely than any of us, Sam,’ said Aragorn.” p. 522

122. Sam Figures It Out and Goes with Frodo:  “‘Whoa, Sam Gamgee!’ he said aloud.  ‘Your legs are too short, so use your head!  Let me see now!  Boromir isn’t lying, that’s not his way; but he hasn’t told us everything.  Something scared Mr. Frodo badly, He screwed himself up to the point, sudden.  He made up his mind at last—to go.  Were to? Off  East.  Not without Sam?  Yes, without even his Sam . . . Coming, Mr. Frodo!  Coming!’ called Sam, and flung himself from the bank, clutching at the departing boat.  He missed it by a yard. With a cry and a splash he fell face downward into deep swift water.  Gurgling he went under, and the River closed over his curly head. - - - An exclamation of dismay came from the empty boat.  A paddle swirled and the boat put about.  Frodo was just in time to grasp Sam by the hair as he came up, bubbling and struggling.  Fear was staring in his round brown eyes. - - - ‘Up you come, Sam my lad!’ said Frodo.  ‘Now take my hand!’ - - - ‘Save me, Mr. Frodo!’ gasped Sam.  ‘I’m drownded.  I can’t see your hand.’ - - - ‘Here it is.  Don’t pinch, lad! I won’t let you go . . . - - - ‘Of all the confounded nuisances you are the worst, Sam!’ he said. - - -‘Oh, Mr. Frodo, that’s hard!’ said Sam shivering.  ‘That’s hard, trying to go without me and all.  If I hadn’t a guessed right, where would you be now?’ - - - ‘Safely on my way.’ - - - ‘Safely!’ said Sam. ‘All alone and without me to help you?  I couldn’t have a borne it, it’s have been the death of me.’ - - - ‘It would be the death of you to come with me, Sam,’ said Frodo, ‘and I could not have borne that.’ - - - ‘Not as certain as being left behind,’ said Sam. - - - But I am going to Mordor.’ - - - ‘I know that well enough, Mr. Frodo.  Of course you are.  And I’m coming with you.’”  pp. 524-525 

123. Frodo’s Gratitude, Sam’s Hope That All Will Meet Again:  “‘So all my plan is spoilt!’ said Frodo.  ‘It is no good trying to escape you.  But I’m glad, Sam.  I cannot tell you how glad.  Come along!  It is plain that we were meant to go together.  We will go, and may the others find a safe road!  Strider will look after them. I don’t suppose we shall see them again.’ - - - ‘Yet we may, Mr. Frodo.  We may,’ said Sam.”  p. 526