To Despair…Or to Hope?

“Now Théoden son of Thengel, will you hearken to me?” said Gandalf.  “Do you ask for help?”  He lifted his staff and pointed to a high window.  There the darkness seemed to clear, and through the opening could be seen, high and far, a patch of shining sky.  “Not all is dark.  Take courage, Lord of the Mark; for better help you will not find.  No counsel have I to give to those who despair.  Yet counsel I could give, and words I could speak to you.  Will you not hear them?  They are not for all ears.  I bid you come out before your doors and look abroad.  Too long have you sat in shadows and trusted to twisted tales and crooked promptings.” – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Chapter Six: The King of the Golden Hall by J. R. R. Tolkien

True Wisdom

“The wise speak only of what they know, Gríma son of Gálmód. A witless worm have you become. Therefore be silent, and keep your forked tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a serving man till the lightning falls.” – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Chapter Six: The King of the Golden Hall by J. R. R. Tolkien