"[But] I fear that in the individual lives of all but a few, the balance is in debit - we do so little that is positive good, even if we negatively avoid what is actively evil."
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien - J.R.R. Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, p. 80