Deciding Our Time: Gandalf’s Eternal Wisdom in ‘The Lord of the Rings’

Masterfully sculpted by the sharp pen of JRR Tolkien 70 years ago, the Lord of the Rings saga has stood the test of time, thanks in particular to the powerful maxims that were declaimed by its protagonists throughout its pages. Rekindled in the early 2000s by Peter Jackson’s excellent adaptation, the flame of these phrases remains as ardent as ever in the hearts of fans.

Of all the characters in this eternal epic, it is most probably the Wizard Gandalf who delivers the most powerful lines (will you be able to complete them without making a single mistake?).

“All we have to decide…”

The one that interests us today resonates twice in the first part of the trilogy.

First in the darkness of Moria, when the Fellowship of the Ring seems to have lost its way, and Frodo comes to confide in Gandalf. The scene is important, because it is, so to speak, the last discussion between the two characters before the Magician falls before the Balrog and is separated from Frodo until the end of the saga.

“I wish the Ring had never come to me, that none of this had happened.”confesses the Hobbit, dejected by the heavy task he must accomplish.

“Like all those who live in such dark hours,” Gandalf then answers him. “But it’s not up to them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time we have.”

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These are the few words, so simple but endowed with extraordinary force, which have often resonated with a powerful echo in the hearts of the spectators to give them courage, and which we often like to remember when the sometimes difficult circumstances of our life invite us to do so. But the Magician’s reply does not stop there.

“There are other forces at work in this world…”

“There are other forces at work in this world besides the will of Evil.”he continues to address Frodon, thus evoking in veiled terms the omniscience of Iluvatar, allegory of God in Tolkien’s world. “Bilbo was assigned to find the Ring, and in this case, you were assigned to hold it as well. And that’s rather encouraging.”

At the end of the film, when the Fellowship has been routed by an enemy army and Frodo finds himself alone on the banks of the Anduin, terrified by the terrible mission he must accomplish without the help of his fellow travelers, these salutary words from Gandalf will providentially come back to his mind.

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“All we have to decide is what to do with the time we have.”

Hearing the little phrase echo in his memories, Frodo then finds the courage he lacked to continue his quest. The terrified glow that haunted his gaze suddenly transforms into an intrepid spark. He suddenly manages to grab a rope in the middle of his inner darkness.

His fingers close around the Ring, which he places back in his pocket, and with a determined shoulder, he pushes his boat onto the waters of the river. His journey can now continue.

What’s your favorite line from Lord of the Rings?

(Re)discover our video dedicated to Gandalf…