Making Plans

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.”

J. R. R. Tolkien, from The Hobbit

Aragorn

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Adventure of Virtue

“Keep before your eyes the supreme adventure of virtue. If you are brave, think of the man who was braver than you. If you are kind, think of the man who was kinder than you. That is what was meant by having a patron saint.”

G. K. Chesterton (“The War on Holidays,” Utopia of Usurers)