War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: J. R. R. Tolkien (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.