In response to doug*platypus's comment on how the yardstick has shortened, I think it's worth recalling Elrond's statement to Frodo after he volunteers to take the Ring to Mordor
Quote:
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Were all the elf-friends of old gathered together...yet your place should be among them
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Pretty remarkable considering Frodo hasn't even done anything (much) yet! Elrond wasn't quite a contemporary with Beren, Turin, etc., but he's about as well-qualified as anyone in ME to make the comparison. I think what he means by this statement is that he has shown equal courage and self-sacrifice for others as the heroes of the First Age, given the time, place, and situation in which he finds himself. This is sort of reminiscent of Gandalf's statement to Frodo after he tells Gandalf he wishes the ring had never come into his hands, and that he had not lived in such a troubled time.
I think that in the passage at Rivendell, Elrond is speaking Tolkien's own opinion of Frodo's quest and of heroism. Certainly Tolkien's world has the property of diminishing over time, and Frodo and perhaps even Aragorn would have been no match for the heroes of the First and Second Ages in single combat, but I believe they showed equal heroism, given the situation and what they had to work with.