Kevin's Watch

Tolkien quotes that have stayed with you over the years.

Aragorn: "My cuts, short or long, don't go wrong."

This has always stayed with me and has popped into my head often over the years. I think it was the first time I had ever read about the concept of a "long cut". Short cuts were obvious but a long cut less so.
As I got older I appreciated the "long" cuts more than the short.
Often when driving my kids I tell them that we're taking a long cut to see certain sites or maybe an area we haven't seen before.

I have to go with the classic...

Another quote I love, the ending of Leaf by Niggle.

"They both laughed.

Laughed—the Mountains rang with it!"

There was a silence in the empty fields, arid Gimli could hear the air moving in the grass. Riders! cried Aragorn, springing to his feet. Many riders on swift steeds are coming towards us!Yes, said Legolas, there are one hundred and five. Yellow is their hair, and bright are their spears. Their leader is very tall. Aragorn smiled. Keen are the eyes of the Elves, he said. Nay! The riders are little more than five leagues distant, said Legolas. Five leagues or one, said Gimli; we cannot escape them in this bare land.

"Keen are the eyes of elves" is my favorite part, though until I looked it up just now, I thought it was "The eyes of elves range far and fair."

When I was pretty young (like 2nd grade) I read the Hobbit (pretty much on my own - was just in a bookshelf). I don't remember how much later, but probably before I was in 4th, my dad read The Fellowship to me and my bro. One of my favorite parts of that were the two statues on the river, btw, and I love giant statues by rivers, generally speaking, perhaps because of that.

When we got to the two towers, we stopped a pretty short way in, because either me, my dad, or my bro (I dunno who) were getting pretty damned tired of the book all of a sudden. I think we just thought the running stuff (which doesn't even take up much time) was boring. Maybe me and my bro weren't asking as many questions or something. I'm not sure.

Anyway, this passage, and the impression of a bit of hostility from the riders of rohan towards the remaining fellowship badasses, were preetty much...that was pretty much the most I had of the lord of the rings until the movies came out. But I REALLY love those lines, and have for quite a while, becuase they're really cool, and encapsulate, for me, the end of reading LotR. (though I did read the books again eventually, I don't really remember what that was like, so I'd like to reada them again again XD).

I always liked "Not lightly do the leaves of Lorien fall."

--A

Aragorn: "He who cannot cast away a treasure at need is in fetters." This has to do with the Lorien brooch as well, in the book.

When I was 14 and read the trilogy the first time, I was utterly mesmerized by the songs. "The road goes ever on..."

And when Sam comes home from the Havens, and says "Well, I'm back."

Three of my favourites:

"It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish." Sam to Frodo in Lorien. [I had this quote posted on my office wall during the months when I was finishing my PhD thesis.]

"All shall love me and despair!" Galadriel to Frodo and Sam.

"The night was railing against the morning of which it was bereaved, and the cold was cursing the warmth for which it hungered." JRRT describing the voice of the barrow-wight.