Yet, unique species though they be, hobbits are human, and through them Tolkien reminds us of the enduring
qualities of the race of man: friendship, fidelity, vision and hope; and of something more: that we are all
possessed of wonder, that we have the capacity to dream dreams and envision
noble goals, and that in the struggle to realize the vision we may find it true.
This
noble creature, a heroic arbiter
possessed of powers to sense the «
quality» and «value» of legal services, has attained an exalted status at conferences, around tables, behind lecterns and upon podia the length and breadth of the land.