Something for our time, from J.R.R. Tolkien.

[Adsos Letter]

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” J.R.R. Tolkien The Fellowship of the Ring

I'm pretty sure someone has shared this already, but it really speaks to me.

[Journeyman]

1. Or this, from Thomas Paine . . .

"If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."

[Adsos Letter]

2. J.R.R. Tolkien and Thomas Paine.

I hold both sentiments.

[ZZenith]

5. And Buster Scruggs'!

[Adsos Letter]

7. And Buster Scruggs.

The final story in that movie is one of my all-time favorites.

[ZZenith]

8. So good!

Hard to pick a favorite Cohen Bros. movie but if I had to, that’s it.

[Adsos Letter]

9. Yup!

I thought the final story was a real tour de force. "No, I have not been to Fort Morgan... ."

[edhopper]

15. You mean

the people in tha stagecoach? I thought that was the weakest one.

[Adsos Letter]

19. Yes.

I thought it was the best one.

[gulliver]

4. +1

[gulliver]

3. Recommended just for having J.R.R. Tolkien in the subject

Excellent quote too though!

[Adsos Letter]

10. His works kept me sane during my Army service.

Semi-sane, anyway.

[Ilsa]

6. Tolkien had some great pearls of wisdom woven

throughout The Hobbit and the LOTR series. Gandalf advising Frodo not to be so quick to deal judgment and death, was another.

[Adsos Letter]

11. Such a gifted author.

And such insight into the human condition.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

12. I was watching the Trilogy during the RNC last week....

Gandalf says the same thing to Aragon after the Battle at Helm's Deep, knowing it was him who would unite men to fight against the forces of Mordor, restore the faith in men to rule and rebuild Middle Earth.

Tolkein also drew from his deep Catholic faith and experiences during WWI in the formation of the Fellowship of The Ring, some of the spirituality in the trilogy, as well as forming his characters.

[Adsos Letter]

18. "What we do in life, echoes in eternity."

You and Tolkien are saying the same thing, I think.

"Tolkien also drew from his deep Catholic faith and experiences during WWI in the formation of the Fellowship of The Ring, some of the spirituality in the trilogy, as well as forming his characters."

I did not know this, but it makes sense. WWI had such an enormous impact on the people of it's time, yet is often overshadowed by the massive (and heavily filmed) destruction of WWII, even though they are part and parcel of the same thing. I believe that many historians combine the two as The Great European Civil War, with a 20 year intermission.

Thank you for commenting about Tolkien.

[LunaSea]

35. There are a number of documentaries

about Tolkien and the influences in his life that led to his writing.

[Adsos Letter]

37. Thank you for sharing those.

I am bookmarking your post for late this evening, when I will have time to relax and enjoy them.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. A big fat K&R!

[Adsos Letter]

21. The Tolkien quote, and the Paine quote cited above by Journeyman.

As a father of two, and a grandfather of four, I hold both sentiments at the same time.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

24. As do I, my dear Adsos Letter!

Except I'm a mother of two and a grandmother of three!

[Crunchy Frog]

14. Thank you. Tolkien really speaks to me during times like this.

[Adsos Letter]

22. You're welcome.

I think that he speaks for many.

[Amaryllis]

16. My favorite Tolkien quote. Here's the clip from the movie:

Also: Gandalf to Frodo: "There are other forces at work in this world besides evil."

[Adsos Letter]

23. Thank you for sharing that.

[Amaryllis]

25. Thanks for posting it. I have often thought of it in times such as these. It is comforting,

including the part that Gandalf says after the part you quoted.

[edhopper]

17. One night on a student's essay he was grading, he wrote this sentence,

"In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit."

[Adsos Letter]

26. "Large streams from little fountains flow...

“Large streams from little fountains flow, Tall oaks from little acorns grow.” --D. Everett in The Columbian Orator (1797)

[anamnua]

20. Another apt quote from LOTR

Sam's Realisation as he gazed at the star from the plains of Gorgoroth....&quot In the end, the shadow is just a passing thing...there is a High & Ancient beauty, that is forever beyond it's reach....)"...

[Adsos Letter]

27. Beautiful.

[paleotn]

28. Very apropos. He wrote The Hobbit and the trilogy...

in the run up and during WW2. He knew a few things about fascism.

[Adsos Letter]

30. I recall reading that it started as a serial in letters he wrote to his son stationed in S. Africa.

Last edited Sun Aug 30, 2020, 07:40 PM - Edit history (1)

At least I think I read that somewhere. Possibly apocryphal.

[CBHagman]

29. A friend recently quoted that to me...

...and it's as truthful as anything she could have said under the circumstances. History expects us to rise to the challenge, not end our efforts.

[catbyte]

31. This is one of my favorite quotes. It inspires me, especially these days.

[Hekate]

32. As I am reading LOTR just now, all your contributions of my favorite passages are bringing tears ...

...to my eyes. I don’t know how many times I’ve read LOTR since 1965, but each time nearly the same passages strike my heart. I have marked them in my books and in the ebooks. During the Bush/Cheney admin I typed out the passage in the OP and taped it to the wall by my computer.

Thank you, fellow travellers.

[littlemissmartypants]

33. Kicked and recommended. ❤ nt

[warmfeet]

34. I will give my life to make a better future for those ahead of me.

That is what all of us are doing, whether we know it or not.

My time is given to helping those in the future.

[aka-chmeee]

36. I can't even guess how many times I have read LOTR and The Hobbit.

But I certainly remember why I started reading it. I happened across a book "Bored of the Rings" I believe from Harvard Lampoon. Even though I had no idea what the book was lampooning, I just had to find out. Drives the wife nuts every time I queue up the books to read again.

[yuiyoshida]

38. K AND R and

Tweeted.