The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)

by J.R.R. Tolkien

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

‘Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need.

‘Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them?

My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many – yours not least.

‘I will help you bear this burden, as long as it is yours to bear.

‘But it is not your own Shire,’ said Gildor. ‘Others dwelt here before hobbits were; and others will dwell here again when hobbits are no more. The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out.’

‘But where shall I find courage?’ asked Frodo. ‘That is what I chiefly need.’ ‘Courage is found in unlikely places,’