J. R. R. Tolkien Quotes

458 Sourced Quotes

"I think we shall have to give the region a name. What do you propose?"
"The Porter settled that some time ago," said the Second Voice. "Train for Niggle's Parish in the bay."

J. R. R. Tolkien
No taste of food, no feel of water, no sound of wind, no memory of tree or grass or flower, no image of moon or star are left to me. I am naked in the dark, Sam, and there is no veil between me and the wheel of fire. I begin to see it even with my waking eyes, and all else fades.

J. R. R. Tolkien
I remember nothing about it except a philological fact. My mother said nothing about the dragon, but pointed out that one could not say 'a green great dragon', but had to say 'a great green dragon'. I wondered why, and still do. The fact that I remember this is possibly significant, as I do not think I ever tried to write a story again for many years, and was taken up with language.

J. R. R. Tolkien
You are a set of deceitful scoundrels! But bless you! I give in. I will take Gildor's advice. If the danger were not so dark, I should dance for joy. Even so, I cannot help feeling happy; happier than I have felt for a long time.

J. R. R. Tolkien
The wolf that one hears is worse than the orc that one fears.

J. R. R. Tolkien
I do not know what is happening. The reason of my waking mind tells me that great evil has befallen and we stand at the end of days. But my heart says nay; and all my limbs are light, and a hope and joy are come to me that no reason can deny. [...] I do not believe that darkness will endure!

J. R. R. Tolkien
Frodo drew himself up, and again Sam was startled by his words and his stern voice. 'On the Precious? How dare you?' he said. 'Think! Would you commit your promise to that, Smeagol? It will hold you. But it is more treacherous than you are. It may twist your words. Beware!

J. R. R. Tolkien
The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have any power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each good day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song.

J. R. R. Tolkien
Fear both the heat and the cold of your heart, and try to have patience, if you can.

J. R. R. Tolkien
The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.

J. R. R. Tolkien
Aragorn threw back his cloak. The elven-sheath glittered as he grasped it, and the bright blade of Andúril shone like a sudden flame as he swept it out. 'Elendil!' he cried. 'I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and am called Elessar, the Elfstone, Dúnadan, the heir of Isildur Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again! Will you aid me or thwart me? Choose swiftly!

J. R. R. Tolkien
But I have been too deeply hurt, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.

J. R. R. Tolkien
It is useless to meet revenge with revenge; it will heal nothing.

J. R. R. Tolkien
Blessed are the legend-makers with their rhyme
of things not found within recorded time.

J. R. R. Tolkien
We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them.

J. R. R. Tolkien
To one who said that myths were lies and therefore worthless, even though 'breathed through silver'.

J. R. R. Tolkien
That story was the only thing I have ever done which cost me absolutely no pains at all. Usually I compose only with great difficulty and endless rewriting. I woke up one day (more than 2 years ago) with that odd thing virtually complete in my head. It took only a few hours to get down, and then copy out.

J. R. R. Tolkien
Burn, burn tree and fern! Shrivel and scorch! A fizzling torch To light the night for our delight, Ya hey! Bake and toast 'em, fry and roast 'em! till beards blaze, and eyes glaze; till hair smells and skins crack, fat melts, and bones black in cinders lie beneath the sky! So dwarves shall die, and light the night for our delight, Ya hey! Ya-harri-hey! Ya hoy!

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

J. R. R. Tolkien
I would have things as they were in all the days of my life... and in the days of my longfathers before me: to be the Lord of this City in peace, and leave my chair to a son after me, who would be his own master and no wizard's pupil. But if doom denies this to me, then I will have naught: neither life diminished, nor love halved, nor honour abated.

J. R. R. Tolkien
Then Frodo came forward and took the crown from Faramir and bore it to Gandalf; and Aragorn knelt, and Gandalf set the White Crown upon his head and said: Now come the days of the King, and may they be blessed while the thrones of the Valar endure!

J. R. R. Tolkien
Splendid! They used to go up like great lilies and snapdragons and laburnums of fire and hang in the twilight all evening!

J. R. R. Tolkien
I threw down my enemy, and he fell from the high place and broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin.

J. R. R. Tolkien
If you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don't know the recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting except as a chewing exercise.

J. R. R. Tolkien
Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!

J. R. R. Tolkien
What have I got in my pocket?" he said aloud. He was talking to himself, but Gollum thought it was a riddle, and he was frightfully upset. "Not fair! not fair!" he hissed. "It isn't fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it's got in it's nassty little pocketsess?

J. R. R. Tolkien
Well, you can go on looking forward," said Gandalf. "There may be many unexpected feasts ahead of you.

J. R. R. Tolkien
There was once a little man called Niggle, who had a long journey to make. He did not want to go, indeed the whole idea was distasteful to him; but he could not get out of it. He knew he would have to start some time, but he did not hurry with his preparations.

J. R. R. Tolkien
Farewell! O Gandalf! May you ever appear where you are most needed and least expected!

J. R. R. Tolkien
The world was fair, the mountains tall In Elder Days before the fall...

J. R. R. Tolkien