J.R.R. Tolkien Quotes

Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall

Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere

The proper study of Man is anything but Man

There is no ship now that would bear me hence

Short cuts make long delays

A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer

All have their worth and each contributes to the worth of the others

Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer

We set out to save the Shire, and it has been saved – but not for me

His grief he will not forget; but it will not darken his heart, it will teach him wisdom

Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement

The wise man knows when not to speak

Oft evil will shall evil mar

Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger

Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens

I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam

I desired dragons with a profound desire

The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair

It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door

Poets are not wholly to be trusted, as you know

All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost

I am in fact a Hobbit in all but size

I would rather spend one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone

I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil

I wish it need not have happened in my time... So do I... and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide

From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring

The greatest adventure is what lies ahead

Books ought to have good endings

The burned hand teaches best. After that advice about fire goes to the heart

A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it

The Road goes ever on and on down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone, and I must follow, if I can

I have always been seeking things, and sometimes I have found them

He loved mountains, or he had loved the thought of them marching on the edge of stories brought from far away; but now he was borne down by the insatiable hunger for their endlessness

Courage is found in unlikely places.

The tales grew in the telling

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.

There is no curse in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of Men for this treachery

But the only measure that he knows is desire: desire for power, and so he judges all hearts

Oft the unbidden guest proves the best company

The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many

A pen is to me as a beak is to a hen

The most improper job of any man, even saints who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on, is bossing other men

Tall ships and tall kings three times three, what brought they from the foundered land over the flowing sea?

The creation of the world is the creation of the visible and the invisible

The praise of the praiseworthy is above all rewards

The world changes, and all that once was strong now proves unsure

Never laugh at live dragons

Beginnings and endings are in this day, and all lives are in the interval

Little by little, one travels far

I desired dragons with a profound desire

Home is behind, the world ahead, and there are many paths to tread through shadows to the edge of night, until the stars are all alight

The treacherous are ever distrustful

War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all

All your long years we have paid tribute to Mordor. No more. The tide has turned!

The wise speak only of what they know

The wide world is before you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out

There was a merry passenger, a messenger, a mariner: he built a gilded gondola to wander in and had in it a load of yellow oranges and porridge

The board is set, the pieces are moving. We come to it at last, the great battle of our time

The story-maker proves a successful 'sub-creator.' He makes a Secondary World which your mind can enter. Inside it, what he relates is 'true': it accords with the laws of that world

To me it would not seem that a Steward who faithfully surrenders his charge is diminished in love or in honour

To crooked eyes truth may wear a wry face

Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles

The hearts of men are easily corrupted

He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom

There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something

The wide world is before you, and a horizon that's always receding

Deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised

Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not

Deep roots are not reached by the frost

There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar

Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and another among Men

Courage is found in unlikely places

The burned hand teaches best. After that, advice about fire goes to the heart

A new power is rising. Against it the old allies and policies will not avail us at all... This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and councils of the Great

Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars

Oft in lies truth is hidden

The proper study of Man is anything but Man

There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.

The old that is strong does not wither

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn

But in the end it's only a passing thing, this shadow; even darkness must pass

Fantasy remains a human right: we make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities

The shadow that bred them can only mock, it cannot make: not real new things of its own. Imitations, yes, mockeries, but not true creations

The greatest adventure is what lies ahead

Not all those who wander are aimless

In sorrow we must go, but not in despair

Still round the corner there may wait, a new road or a secret gate

We may meet again — if ever again a meeting be possible

There’s more hope for us even now. We shan’t be caught now, not if we stick to our work

Living by faith includes the call to something greater than cowardly self-preservation

The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out

Not all those who wander are lost.

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn