I will not say

I will not say, Do not weep... not all tears are an evil.

~Gandalf, Lord of the Rings

Hold your ground,

Hold your ground, hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!

~Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings

Home is behind

Home is behind, the world ahead... And there are many paths to tread. Through shadow, to the edge of night, until the stars are all alight... Mist and shadow, cloud and shade, all shall fade... all... shall... fade...

~Pippin, song from Lord of the Rings

Destroy it!

Sam: FRODO!
Frodo: I'm here Sam.
Sam: Destroy it!
[Frodo holds the ring on its chain over the edge of the pit]
Sam: Go on! Now! Throw it in the fire!
[Frodo stares at the ring, the ring whispers to him]
Sam: What are you waiting for? Just let it go!
[Frodo turns and looks at Sam]
Frodo: The ring is mine.
[He snaps the chain and approaches the ring to his finger]
Sam: No... no...
[Frodo slips the ring on and vanishes]
Sam: NO!

Do you remember the Shire

Sam: [Both are overcome by exhaustion] Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It'll be spring soon. And the orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And they'll be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields... and eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?
Frodo: No, Sam. I can't recall the taste of food... nor the sound of water... nor the touch of grass. I'm... naked in the dark, with nothing, no veil... between me... and the wheel of fire! I can see him... with my waking eyes!
Sam: Then let us be rid of it... once and for all! Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can't carry it for you... but I can carry you!

~Frodo and Sam, The Lord of the Rings

Oh... That's nice.

Oh... That's nice. Ash on my tomatoes!

~Pippin, The Lord of the Rings

The Quest stands

The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true.

~Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings

The world is changed.

The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.

~Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings

Go back, Sam

Frodo: Go back, Sam. I'm going to Mordor alone.
Sam: Of course you are. And I'm coming with you.

~Frodo and Sam, Lord of the Rings

You are a Ring-bearer

You are a Ring-bearer, Frodo. To bear a Ring of Power is to be alone.

~Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings

In the place of a Dark Lord

In the place of a Dark Lord you would have a Queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Morn! Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair!

~Galadriel, The Lord of the Ring

It began with the forging of the Great Rings

It began with the forging of the Great Rings. Three were given to the Elves; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven, to the Dwarf Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else desire power. For within these rings was bound the strength and the will to govern over each race. But they were all of them deceived, for a new ring was made. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret, a master ring, to control all others. And into this ring he poured all his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life. One ring to rule them all. One by one, the free peoples of Middle Earth fell to the power of the Ring. But there were some who resisted. A last alliance of men and elves marched against the armies of Mordor, and on the very slopes of Mount Doom, they fought for the freedom of Middle-Earth. Victory was near, but the power of the ring could not be undone. It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Isildur, son of the king, took up his father's sword. And Sauron, enemy of the free peoples of Middle-Earth, was defeated. The Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever, but the hearts of men are easily corrupted. And the ring of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Isildur, to his death. And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, the ring ensnared another bearer. The ring came to the creature Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels under the Misty Mountains, and there it consumed him. The ring gave to Gollum unnatural long life. For five hundred years it poisoned his mind; and in the gloom of Gollum's cave, it waited. Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the East, whispers of a nameless fear, and the Ring of Power perceived. Its time had now come. It abandoned Gollum. But then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable. A hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire. For the time will soon come when hobbits will shape the fortunes of all...

~Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings

One Ring

"One Ring to Rule Them All.
One Ring to Find Them.
One Ring to Bring Them All
and In The Darkness Bind Them."

~Lord of the Rings

One does not simply walk into Mordor

One does not simply walk into Mordor. It's black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The great eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, ash, and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly.

~Boromir, The Lord of the Rings

Ash Nazg Durbatuluk

Ash Nazg Durbatuluk,
Ash Nazg Gimbatul,
Ash Nazg Thrakatuluk,
Agh Burzum-ishi Krimpatul.

~Gandalf: [speaking the words engraved on the One Ring], The Lord of the Rings

Are you frightened

Aragorn: Are you frightened?
Frodo: Yes.
Aragorn: Not nearly frightened enough. I know what hunts you.

Frodo and Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings

Keep breathing.

Keep breathing. That's the key. Breathe.

~Gimli, The Lord of the Rings

Look at my men.

Look at my men. Their courage hangs by a thread. If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end, as to be worthy of remembrance.

~Theoden, The Lord of the Rings

If Aragorn survives

If Aragorn survives this war, you will still be parted. If Sauron is defeated and Aragorn made king and all that you hope for comes true you will still have to taste the bitterness of mortality. Whether by the sword or the slow decay of time, Aragorn will die. And there will be no comfort for you, no comfort to ease the pain of his passing. He will come to death an image of the splendor of the kings of Men in glory undimmed before the breaking of the world. But you, my daughter, you will linger on in darkness and in doubt as nightfall in winter that comes without a star. Here you will dwell bound to your grief under the fading trees until all the world is changed and the long years of your life are utterly spent.

~Elrond, The Lord of the Rings

Mordor

Mordor... the one place in Middle-Earth we don't want to see any closer... the one place we're trying to get to... is just where we can't get. Let's face it, Mr. Frodo. We're lost!

~Sam, The Lord of the Rings