'No!' cried Gandalf, springing to his feet. 'With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly.' His eyes flashed and his face was lit as by a fire within. 'Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good. Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused. The wish to wield it would be too great for my strength. I shall have such need of it. Great perils lie before me' (FotR 71).
Here is a great, humanizing passage for Gandalf. His character is so easily mis-rememberd as a simplistic, cliched, all-knowing, all-powerful guide for the incapable hobbits, but this is far from the truth. What a revealing insight into his innermost hopes and fears. And how convincing a portrayal of temptation! "No! . . . Do not tempt me! . . . Do not tempt me!" goes the refrain of the passage. "I dare not take it . . . I shall have such need of it," goes his internal struggle. "Great perils" indeed!
"Tolkien 365" is a (hopefully) daily reflection on a quote from the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, beginning with The Lord of the Rings and branching into his other writings as opportunity and inspiration allow. Comments are especially welcome. Page references are from the hardcover American Second Edition, published by Houghton Mifflin.
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