The Lord of the Rings is epic in every sense of the word. The entire saga weighs in at well over a thousand pages, factoring in The Hobbit and The Silmarillion and then some, telling a story with a vast scope that encompasses eons. And author J.R.R. Tolkien’s books are epic on a page-by-page, sentence-by-sentence level too, featuring countless spectacular sentences and memorable quotes, but one line uttered by Gandalf stands out above the rest.

Which says a lot about the quote. The Lord of the Rings main trilogy itself is nearly 500,000 words, yet the essence of the franchise, or at least its best nugget of practical wisdom, takes up less than twenty of them. It is a single, spectacular piece of advice that Gandalf gives early in The Fellowship of the Ring, which holds up as Tolkien’s most sagacious moment in his novels.

For all the high fantasy and flawless worldbuilding that surrounds it, this simple quote by Gandalf can have a profound effect on readers, because it is as true for the heroes of Middle Earth as it is for ordinary people going about their everyday lives.

Gandalf’s Quote In “Fellowship” About Time Stands As Lord Of The Rings’ Single Greatest Line

First, let’s look at the core of Gandalf’s quote in isolation, and then we can consider its broader context in a bit more detail. Here is the line:

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

It’s simple, but the most profound insights into the human condition often are. Every single person faces this same existential question: how to put their limited time on Earth to good use, how not to waste their time. Everyone’s personal version of the answer is going to be different, but in the abstract, what Gandalf is saying is that this is the fundamental, unavoidable choice in life.

We actively choose, or indecision becomes the decision. That’s a powerful thing for literature to remind a reader of. And it harkens back to the fact that The Lord of the Rings started as a children’s story. And so this idea of choosing what to do with one’s time, what to be in life, is a potent theme in Rings, which underlies the more grandiose hero’s journey that Frodo, the character Gandalf says this line to, undertakes in the books.

That’s the meaning this single line of dialogue Gandalf delivers in The Fellowship of the Ring takes on when taken out of context. Which is how the line is often remembered. And it works this way, yes, but the larger exchange between Frodo and Gandalf the quote comes as part of reveals that J.R.R. Tolkien was using a different meaning of “time.”

Gandalf’s Dialogue With Frodo Shows The True Brilliance Of His “Time” Line

Here’s the fuller quote from Fellowship:

“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 us.”

In other words, what Gandalf is literally saying in this moment is that everyone is a product of their era, and has to choose how to live in that era. Frodo doesn’t want to live through a world historic event, let alone be the hero at the heart of it, but that is how the history of Middle Earth is playing out, and Frodo has to roll with it.

This gives the quote an even richer meaning, one that speaks to people who feel trapped by their time, but wish to be the authors of it. Another way to put what Gandalf is saying: nobody can control what era they are born into, but they can try to make an impact in that era. In this sense, the epochal meaning of Gandalf’s message to Frodo merges the interpretation above. People have to choose what to do with their time, and how to be part of their era.

Heroes choose wisely, and Frodo subsequently proves himself to be a generational hero by making the right choices when they come up in the Lord of the Rings saga, something Gandalf always knew the young Hobbit had in him.

What do you say, readers? If this isn’t the best Lord of the Rings quote, what’s your pick?

Movie(s)

The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Created by

J.R.R. Tolkien

First Film

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Cast

Norman Bird, Anthony Daniels, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Morfydd Clark, Mike Wood, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Sara Zwangobani, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lenny Henry, Brian Cox, Shaun Dooley, Miranda Otto, Bilal Hasna, Benjamin Wainwright, Luke Pasqualino, Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt

TV Show(s)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Character(s)

Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Legolas, Boromir, Sauron, Gollum, Samwise Gamgee, Pippin Took, Celeborn, Aragorn, Galadriel, Bilbo Baggins, Saruman, Aldor, Wormtongue, Thorin Oakenshield, Balin Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Nori, Dori, Ori, Tauriel, King Thranduil, Smaug, Radagast, Arondir, Nori Brandyfoot, Poppy Proudfellow, Marigold Brandyfoot, Queen Regent Míriel, Sadoc Burrows

The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.