"I should like to save the Shire, if I could - though there have been times when I thought the inhabitants too stupid and dull for words, and have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them. But I don't feel like that now. I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot stand there again."

carrying the world around his neck

"I see no hope of it now. But I've got to do the best I can."

thatquietearth:

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Book IV, Chapter One - The Taming of Sméagol

‘Yess, wretched we are, precious,’ he whined. 'Misery misery! Hobbits won’t kill us, nice hobbits.’

 ’No, we won’t,’ said Frodo. ‘But we won’t let you go, either.  You’re full of wickedness and mischief, Gollum.  You will have to come with us, that’s all, while we keep an eye on you.  But you must help us, if you can.  One good turn deserves another.’