”˜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 to us
Then Frodo kissed Merry and Pippin, and last of all Sam, and went abroad; and the sails were drawn up, and the wind blew, and slowly the ship slipped away down the long grey firth; and the light of the glass of Galadriel that Frodo bore glimmered and was lost. And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed on into the West, until at last one night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise.
–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
[blockquote]White was that ship and long was it a-building, and long it awaited the end of which CÃrdan had spoken. But when all these things were done, and the Heir of Isildur had taken up the lordship of Men, and the dominion of the West had passed to him, then it was made plain that the power of the Three Rings also was ended, and to the Firstborn the world grew old and grey. In that time that last of the Noldor set sail from the Havens and left Middle-earth for ever. And latest of all the Keepers of the Three Rings rode to the sea, and Master Elrond took there the ship that CÃrdan had made ready. In the twilight of autumn it sailed out of Mithlond, until the seas of the Bent World fell away beneath it, and the winds of the round sky troubled it no more, and borne upon the high airs above the mists of the world it passed into the Ancient West, and an end was come for the Eldar of story and of song.[/blockquote]
J.R.R. Tolkien, the end of [i]The Silmarillion[/i] (more from the Elves point of view)
The first part of the quote was spoken in the mines of Moria.
The second paragraph occurred at the very end of the books.
In between those two events, Frodo went to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor, and the great battle was fought for Middle Earth against Sauron and the forces of evil.
The battle is not quite over yet, and I think we are not quite sailing into the earthly Paradise at the end of the farhest sea. We are still battling the forces of Mordor, where the shadows lie. (and I do believe that the last word is, indeed, a pun)
We need to be committed to the ideals of the “True West” as Tolkien constructed that idea — but the battle was not for the sake of sailing off into the sunset. Rather, it was to re-establish the Kingdom of righteousness and goodness in Middle Earth. The little heroes of [i]The Lord of the Rings[/i] did this by repudiating the temptations of the power of the Ring, surviving the great battle, and seeing the True King victoriously crowned to regain his rightful Kingdom.
May we do the same!! God’s Will — His Kingdom — on Earth [i][b]AS[/b][/i] in Heaven
The first quote occurs when Gandalf first acquaints Frodo with the history of the Ring in Hobbiton. I’ve always thought that Frodo’s reactions and Gandalf’s response are instructive.
Recall Frodo’s regret that Bilbo had failed to kill Gollum when he first met him:
“I can’t understand you. Do you mean to say that you and the Elves have let him live on after all those horrible deeds? Now at any rate he is as bad an Orc, and an enemy. He deserves death.”
“Deserves it! I dare say he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it them? The do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
Words to ponder.
Fine post, Jeremy, thanks.