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Escaping goblins to be caught by wolves!" he said, and it became a proverb, though we now say 'out of the frying-pan into the fire' in the same sort of uncomfortable situations. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
All my own perception of beauty both in majesty and simplicity is founded upon Our Lady. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
We were born in a dark age out of due time (for us). But there is this comfort: otherwise we should not know, or so much love, what we do love. I imagine the fish out of water is the only fish to have an inkling of water. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The sons of Dior and Nimloth were Elured and Elurin; and a daughter also was born to them, and she was named Elwing, which is Star-spray, for she was born on a night of stars, whose light glittered in the spray of the waterfall of Lanthir Lamath beside her father's house. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight?'
A man may do both,' said Aragorn. 'For not we but those who come after will make the legends of our time. The green earth, say you? That is a mighty matter of legend, though you tread it under the light of day! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king ...
Reforge the sword. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am (obviously) much in love with plants and above all trees, and always have been; and I find human maltreatment of them as hard to bear as some find ill-treatment of animals. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But our back is to legends and we are coming home. I suppose this is the first taste of it.'
'There is a long road yet,' said Gandalf.
'But it is the last road,' said Bilbo. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Curse us and crush us, my precious is lost! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
[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. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Float beyond the world of trees. Out into the whispering breeze, past the rushes, past the weeds, past the marsh's waving reeds. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
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.' 'Very -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Glorfindel smiled. 'I doubt very much,' he said, 'if your friends would be in danger if you were not with them! The pursuit would follow you and leave us in peace, I think. It is you, Frodo, and that which you bear that brings us all in peril. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Tall ships and tall kings Three times three, What brought they from the foundered land Over the flowing sea? Seven stars and seven stones And one white tree. (The Two Towers) -- J.r.r. Tolkien
NO ADMITTANCE EXCEPT ON PARTY BUSINESS. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It is plain that we were meant to go together. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with weary feet, Until it joins some larger way, Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am learning a lot about Sam Gamgee on this journey. First he was a conspirator, now he's a jester. He'll end up by becoming a wizard or a warrior! - Frodo Baggins -- J.r.r. Tolkien
How shall a man judge what to do in such times?'
'As he ever has judged,' said Aragorn. 'Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear ... It is a man's part to discern them, as much in th Golden Wood as in his own house. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I hear nothing but the night-speech of plant and stone. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
My body is broken. I go to my fathers. And even in their mighty company I shall not now be ashamed. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Not all who wander are lost. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Nobody believes me when I say that my long book is an attempt to create a world in which a form of language agreeable to my personal aesthetic might seem real. But it is true. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature. I don't know where he came from, nor who or what he was. He was Gollum - as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
In those days the Great Enemy, of whom Sauron of Mordor was but a servant, dwelt in Angband in the North, and the Elves of the West coming back to Middle-earth made war upon him to regain the Silmarils which he had stolen; and the fathers of Men aided the Elves. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There he lay, a vast red-golden dragon, fast asleep; thrumming came from his jaws and nostrils, and wisps of smoke, but his fires were low in slumber. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I may be a burglar ... but I'm an honest one, I hope, more or less. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Mr. Baggins was still officially their expert burglar and investigator. If he liked to risk a light, that was his affair. They would wait in the tunnel for his report. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I have chosen Mr Baggins and that ought to be enough for all of you. If I say he is a Burglar, a Burglar he is, or will be when the time comes. There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am like a burglar that can't get away, but must go on miserably burgling the same house day after day.
- Bilbo Baggins -- J.r.r. Tolkien
You may not like my burglar, but please don't damage him. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I fear I am beyond your comprehension. - Gandalf the White -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Don't pinch!" said his eagle. "You need not be frightened like a rabbit, even if you look rather like one. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Child of the kindly West, I have come to know, if more of us valued your ways - food and cheer above hoarded gold - it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
All that is gold does not glitter... -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Stir not the bitterness in the cup that I mixed for myself,' said Denethor. 'Have I not tasted it now many nights upon my tongue, foreboding that worse lay in the dregs? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Not all that have fallen are vanquished. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
He was kindhearted, in a way. You know the sort of kind heart: it made him uncomfortable more often than it made him do anything; and even when he did anything, it did not prevent him from grumbling, losing his temper and swearing (mostly to himself). -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Actually in Hobbiton and Bywater every day in the year was somebody's birthday, so that every hobbit in those parts had a fair chance of at least one present at least once a week. But they never got tired of them. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Trees shall fall and starless night devour the sunless day; When wind is in the deadly East, then in the bitter rain I'll look for thee, and call to thee; I'll come to thee again! ENTWIFE. When Winter comes, and -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Blunt the knives.
Bend the forks.
Smash the bottles and burn the corks.
Chip the glasses and crack the plates.
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A good vocabulary is not acquired by reading books written according to some notion of the vocabulary of one's age group. It comes from reading books above one. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
In the spring when the wind is in the new leaves the echo of her voice may still be heard by the fall that bear her name. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
They were frightfully angry. Quite apart from the stones no spider has ever liked being called Attercop, and Tomnoddy of course is insulting to anybody. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Third time pays for all -- J.r.r. Tolkien
May your shadow never grow less (or stealing would be too easy)! -- 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
Never leave your master, never, never: that was my right rule. And I knew it in my heart. May I be forgiven! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
for being the work of Elvish smiths in the Elder Days these swords shone with a cold light, if any Orcs were near at hand. Behind -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which helps them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along, making a noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
In one thing you have not changed, dear friend," said Aragorn: "you still speak in riddles."
"What? In riddles?" said Gandalf. "No! For I was talking aloud to myself. A habit of the old: they choose the wisest person present to speak to; the long explanations needed by the young are wearying. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Already the hour had struck, and at his great Master's bidding he must march with war into the West. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The washing-up was so dismally real that Bilbo was forced to believe the party of the night before had not been part of his bad dreams, as he had rather hoped. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Not all those who wander are lost. - Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien -- J.r.r. Tolkien
All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Not everyone who wanders is lost. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Cold be hand and heart and bone, and cold be sleep under stone: never more to wake on stony bed, never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead. In the black wind the stars shall die, and still on gold here let them lie, till the dark lord lifts his hand over dead sea and withered land. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I don't see why the likes o' thee
Without axin' leave should go makin' free
With the shank or the shin o' my father's kin;
So hand the old bone over!
Rover! Trover!
Though dead he be, it belongs to he;
So hand the old bnone over! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Elves and Dragons! Cabbages and potatoes are better for me and you. Don't go getting mixed up in the business of your betters, or you'll land in trouble too big for you.
~Hamfast Gamgee (the Gaffer) -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I wish you'd take his Ring. You'd put things to rights. You'd stop them digging up the Gaffer and turning him adrift. You'd make some folk pay for their dirty work.' 'I would,' she said. 'That is how it would begin. But it would not stop with that, alas! We -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I kill where I wish and none dare resist. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Would it? Would any of you have believed me till now?" said Strider. "I knew nothing of this letter. For all I knew I had to persuade you to trust me without proofs, if I was to help you. In any case, I did not intend to tell you all about myself ... -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I regard the tale of Arwen and Aragorn as the most important of the Appendices [in Lord of The Rings]; it is part of the essential story, and is only placed so, because it could not be worked into the main narrative without destroying its structure ...
[From letter 181] -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am rather tired, and no longer young enough to pillage the night to make up for the deficit of hours in the day ... JRR Tolkien, Letter # 174 -- J.r.r. Tolkien
For some time I lived in fear of receiving a letter signed 'S. Gollum'. That would have been more difficult to deal with. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Few there were who could change his courses by counsel. None by force. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I felt a curious thrill, as if something had stirred in me, half wakened from sleep. There was something very remote and strange and beautiful behind those words, if I could grasp it, far beyond ancient English.
(on reading the Cynewulf lines about the star Earendel) -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Deep they delved us, fair they wrought us, high they builded us; but they are gone. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am wholly in favour of 'dull stodges'. A surprising large proportion prove 'educable': for which a primary qualification is the willingness to do work. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Aragon felt a shudder run through him at the sound, a strange cold thrill; and yet it was not fear or terror that he felt: rather it was like the sudden bite of a keen air, or the slap of a cold rain that wakes an uneasy sleeper. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
No, and [the sun] will not rise today, Master Holbytla. Nor ever again, one would think under this cloud. But time does not stand still, though the Sun be lost. Make haste! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It is mine, I tell you. My own. My precious. Yes, my precious. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Alas, not me, lord!" she said. "Shadow lies on me still. Look not to me for healing! I am a shieldmaiden and my hand is ungentle. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I have no signs on my door - it was painted a week ago - , -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And now leave me in peace for a bit! I don't want to answer a string of questions while I am eating. I want to think!"
"Good Heavens!" said Pippin. "At breakfast? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The Brandybucks were blowing the Horn-call of Buckland, that had not been sounded for a hundred years, not since the white wolves came in the Fell Winter, when the Brandywine was frozen over. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It seemed to him that he could hardly hear the sound of his own shrill voice: it was blown away from him by the willow-wind and drowned in a clamor of leaves, as soon as the words left his mouth. He felt desperate: lost and witless. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking, best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
open war lies before him, with Sauron or against him. None may live now as they have lived, and few shall keep what they call their own. But -- J.r.r. Tolkien
As the light upon the leaves of trees, as the voice of clear waters, as the stars above the mists of the world, such was her glory and her loveliness; and in her face was a shining light. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But where the warg howls, there also the orc prowls. - Aragorn -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A thousand years this city has stood, now at the whim of a madman it will fall. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then Elrond and Galadriel rode on; for the Third Age was over and the Days of the Rings were passed and an end was come of the story and song of those times. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
He paused and looked at Frodo doubtfully. 'Have you got it here?' he asked in a whisper. 'I can't help feeling curious, you know, after all I've heard. I should very much like just to peep at it again. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
What did I tell you, Mr. Pippin?' said Sam, sheathing his sword. 'Wolves won't get him. That was an eye-opener, and no mistake! Nearly singed the hair off my head! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Me! And here in the wild I have you: two halflings, and a host of men at my call, and the Ring of Rings. A pretty stroke of fortune! A chance for Faramir, Captain of Gondor, to show his quality! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But fear no more! I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory. No, I do not wish for such triumphs, Frodo son of Drogo. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
At that time Frodo was still in his tweens, as the hobbits called the irresponsible twenties between childhood and coming of age at thirty-three. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It is not yours save by unhappy chance. It might have been mine. It should be mine. Give it to me! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
They tried to pierce your heart with a Morgul-knife which remains in the wound. If they had succeeded, you would have become like they are, only weaker and under their command. You would have became a wraith under the dominion of the Dark Lord. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I can't be the Ring-bearer. Not without Mr. Frodo! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
if he had used all his power to guard Mordor, so that none could enter, and bent all his guile to the hunting of the Ring, then indeed hope would have faded: neither Ring nor bearer could long have eluded him. But -- J.r.r. Tolkien
We cannot achieve victory by arms, but by arms we can give the Ring-bearer his only chance, frail though it be. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The realm of Suaron is ended!' said Gandalf. 'The Ring-bearer has fulfilled his Quest -- J.r.r. Tolkien
rest, if you must. Yet do not cast all hope away. Tomorrow is unknown. Rede oft is found at the rising of the Sun. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Out of doubt, out of dark to the day's rising
I came singing into the sun, sword unsheathing.
To hope's end I rode and to heart's breaking:
Now for wrath, now for ruin and a red nightfall! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But to this Orc-work such a life as we lead has brought us. Lawless and fruitless all our deeds have been, serving only ourselves, and feeding hate in our hearts. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There are some things that it is better to begin than to refuse, even though the end may be dark. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
How could such a large door be kept secret from everybody outside, apart from the dragon? [Bilbo] asked. He was only a little hobbit you must remember. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo, a star shines on the hour of our meeting. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand ... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep.. that have taken hold. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
For you seem ever to think only of its power in the hands of the Enemy: of its evil uses not of its good. The world is changing, you say. Minas -- J.r.r. Tolkien
If this is victory, then our hands are too small to hold it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Don't go getting mixed up in the business of your betters, or you'll land in trouble too big for you. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
No more debates disturbed his mind. He knew all the arguments of despair and would not listen to them. His will was set, and only death would break it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!" "Thank -- J.r.r. Tolkien
To whatever end. Where is the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? They have passed like rain on the mountains. Like wind in the meadow. The days have gone down in the west. Behind the hills, into shadow. How did it come to this? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But handsome is as handsome does, as we say in the Shire; and I daresay we shall all look much the same after lying for days in hedges and ditches. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
That would be no good," said the wizard, "not without a mighty
Warrior, even a Hero. I tried to find one; but warriors are busy fighting
one another in distant lands, and in this neighbourhood heroes are scarce, or simply not to be found. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am old, Gandalf. I don't look it, but I am beginning to feel it in my heart of hearts. Well-preserved indeed! Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread. That can't be right. I need a change, or something. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand ... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The realm of fairy-story is wide and deep and high and filled with many things: all manner of beasts and birds are found there; shoreless seas and stars uncounted; beauty that is an enchantment, and an ever-present peril; both joy and sorrow as sharp as swords. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Mourn not overmuch! Mighty was the fallen, meet was his ending. When his mound is raised, women then shall weep. War now calls us! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Well, I am going back into the open air, to see what the wind and sky are doing! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
You ought not to be rude to an eagle, when you are only the size of a hobbit, and are up in his eyrie at night! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
You do not know your danger, Theoden. These hobbits will sit on the edge of ruin and discuss the pleasures of the table, or the small doings of their fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers, and remoter cousins to the ninth degree, if you encourage them with undue patience. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There are truths, that are beyond us, transcendent truths, about beauty, truth, honor, etc. There are truths that man knows exist, but they cannot be seen - they are immaterial, but no less real, to us. It is only through the language of myth that we can speak of these truths. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A darkness lies behind us, and we have turned our backs upon it, and we do not desire to return thither even in thought. Westwards our hearts have been turned, and we believe that there we shall find Light. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
They spoke no more of the small news of
the Shire far away, nor of the dark shadows and perils that
encompassed them, but of the fair things they had seen in
the world together, of the Elves, of the stars, of trees, and the
gentle fall of the bright year in the woods. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
No, sweet one. See, my precious: if we has it, then we can escape, even from Him, eh? Perhaps we grow very strong, stronger than Wraiths. Lord Smeagol? Gollum the Great? The Gollum! Eat fish every day, three times a day, fresh forum the sea. Most precious Gollum! Must have it... -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Smeagol won't grub for roots and carrotses and - taters. What's taters,precious, eh, what's taters?"
"Po-ta-toes!" said Sam. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Smeagol,' said Gollum suddenly and clearly, opening his eyes wide and staring at Frodo with a strange light. 'Smeagol will swear on the Precious.'
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! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Well, you have now, Sam, dear Sam,' said Frodo, and he lay back in Sam's gentle arms, closing his eyes, like a child at rest when night-fears are driven away by some loved voice or hand. Sam felt that he could sit like that in endless happiness ... -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring, was published in Great Britain by the London firm George Allen & Unwin on 29 July 1954; an American edition followed on 21 October of the same year, published -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Yes, I am here. And you are lucky to be here too after all the absurd things you've done since you left home. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
he was for long my only audience... Only from him did I ever get the idea that my 'stuff' could be more than a private hobby. But for his interest and unceasing eagerness for more I should never have brought The L. of the R. to a conclusion. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
All your long years we have been friends. Trust me as you once did, let it go -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Yes, they are elves," Legolas said. "and they say that you breathe so loud they could shoot you in the dark." Sam hastily covered his mouth. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I have no help to send, therefore I must go myself. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A tree there towere Tall and branching That house upholding The hall's wonder Its leaves their hangings Its limbs rafters Its mighty bole In the midst standing. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Do you remember when we first met? I thought I had wandered into a dream. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! We still remember, we who dwell In this far land beneath the trees. Thy starlight on the Western Seas. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Above all shadows rides the Sun
and Stars for ever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
nor bid the Stars farewell. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
[Hobbits] love peace and quiet and a good tilled earth. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
My 'Sam Gamgee' is indeed a reflexion of the English soldier, of the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and recognised as so far superior to myself. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
So much death! What can med do against such reckless hate? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
That was the most awkward Wednesday he ever remembered. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
For the trouble with the real folk of Faerie is that they do not always look like what they are; and they put on the pride and beauty that we would fain wear ourselves. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
He had many hardships and adventures before he got back. The Wild was still the Wild, and there were many other things in it in those days beside goblins; but he was well guided and well guarded - the wizard was with him, and Beorn for much of the way - and he was never in great danger again. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But soon Aragorn arose, saying: "Lo! already Minas Tirith is assailed. I fear that it will fall ere we come to its aid." So -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Hammer and tongs! I am so torn between rage and joy, that if I do not burst, it will be a marvel! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Their 'magic' is Art, delivered from many of its human limitations. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
They tried shooting at the squirrels, and they wasted many arrows before they managed to bring one down on the path. But when they roasted it, it proved horrible to taste, and they shot no more squirrels. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
They have left us fruit and drink, and bread,' said Pippin. 'Come and have your breakfast. The bread tastes almost as good as it did last night. I did not want to leave you any, but Sam insisted. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The wise speak only of what they know -- J.r.r. Tolkien
They cannot conquer for ever! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
One was to sting me," he thought, "I should swell up as big again as I am!" They were bigger than hornets. The drones were bigger than your thumb, a good deal, and the bands of yellow on their deep black bodies shone like fiery gold. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
They lie in all the pools, pale faces, deep deep under the dark water. I saw them: grim faces and evil, and noble faces and sad. Many faces proud and fair, and weeds in their silver hair. But all foul, all rotting, all dead. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Hobbits do not like heights, and do not sleep upstairs, even when they have any stairs. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Moreover the wealthy may have pity beyond right on the needy that befriended them when they were in want. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then she fell on her knees, saying: 'I beg thee!'
'Nay, lady,' he said, and taking her by the hand he raised her. The he kissed her hand, and sprang into the saddle, and rode away, and did not look back; and only those who knew him well and were near to him saw the pain that he bore. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There I lay staring upward, while the stars wheeled over ... Faint to my ears came the gathered rumor of all lands: the springing and the dying, the song and the weeping, and the slow everlasting groan of overburdened stone. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And suddenly she began to sing. Keen, heart-piercing was her song as the song of the lark that rises from the gates of night and pours its voice among the dying stars, seeing the sun behind the walls of the world -- J.r.r. Tolkien
That leaves you just ten minutes. You will have to run," said Gandalf. "But - ," said Bilbo. "No time for it," said the wizard. "But - ," said Bilbo again. "No time for that either! Off you go!" To -- J.r.r. Tolkien
This is a bitter adventure, if it must end so; and not a mountain of gold can amend it. Yet I am glad that I have shared in your perils
that has been more than any baggins deserves. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But her beauty was more than their beauty, and her sorrow deeper than their sorrows; and she knelt before Mandos and sang to him. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Far, far below the deepest delvings of the dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The light sprang up again, and there on the brink of the chasm, at the very Crack of Doom, stood Frodo, black against the glare, tense; erect, but still as if he had been turned to stone. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Such bees! Bilbo had never seen anything like them.
"If one were to sting me," He thought "I should swell up as big as I am! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Hush! Take no notice!" - Gandalf -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And what would you do, if an uninvited dwarf came and hung his things up in your hall without a word of explanation? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Thorin, of course, was really the grandson of the King under the Mountain, and there is no knowing what a dwarf will not dare and do for revenge or the recovery of his own. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It is dark for archery,' said Gimli. 'Indeed it is time for sleep. Sleep! I feel the need of it, as never I thought any dwarf could. Riding is tiring work. Yet my axe is restless in my hand. Give me a row of orc-necks and room to swing and all weariness will fall from me! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Elrond's house was perfect, whether you liked food or sleep or story-telling or singing (or reading), or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Merely to be there was a cure for weariness ... Evil things did not come into the secret valley of Rivendell. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
You take after Bilbo,' said Gandalf. 'There is more about you than meets the eye, as I said of him long ago.' Frodo wondered if the remark meant more than it said -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But you comfort me, Gimli, I'm glad to have you standing nigh with your stout legs and your hard axe. I wish there were more of your kin among us. But even more would I give for a hundred good archers of Mirkwood.
- Legolas -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A red sun rises. Blood has been spilled this night. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And he could sleep, if sleep it could be called by Men, resting his mind in the strange paths of Elvish dreams, even as he walked open-eyed in the light of this world. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Well, sir, if I could grow apples like that, I would call myself a gardener. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Evil labours with vast power and perpetual success - in vain: preparing always only the soil for unexpected good to sprout in. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Clothes are of but little loss, if you escape from drowning. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I know why you seek solitude. You suffer; I see it day by day. You sure you do not suffer needlessly? There are other ways, Frodo, other paths that we might take.
I know what you would say. And it would seem like wisdom but for the warning in my heart. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Farewell," they cried, "Wherever you fare till your eyries receive you at the journey's end!" That is the polite thing to say among eagles.
"May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks," answered Gandalf, who knew the correct reply. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I would rather spend one life time with you than face all of the ages of this world alone -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Sleepiness seemed to be creeping out of the ground and up their legs, and falling softly out of the air upon theirheads and eyes. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo ... and it's worth fighting for. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
If you're referring to the incident with the Dragon, I was barely involved. All I did was give your uncle a little nudge out of the door. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
O! Will you be staying,
Or will you be flying?
Your ponies are straying!
The daylight is dying!
To fly would be folly,
To stay would be jolly
And listen and hark
Till the end of the dark
to our tune
ha! ha! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo!
Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow!
Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower,
And bright are the windows of Night in her tower. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Ever your desire is to appear lordly and generous as a king of old ... But in desperate hours gentleness may be repaid with death.'
'So be it,' said Faramir. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But who knows what she spoke to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all her life seemed shrinking, and the walls of her bower closing in about her, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Their horses were of great stature, strong and clean-limbed; their gray coats glistened, their long tails flowed in the wind, their manes were braided on their proud necks. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Perhaps it is better not to tell what you wish. if you cannot have it. -- 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
Bilbo lay with his eyes shut, gasping an taking pleasure in the feel of the fresh air again, and hardly noticing the excitement of the dwarves, or how they praised him and patted him on the back and put themseves and all their families for generations to come at his service. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Far over misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To find our long-forgotten gold. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And yet, Eomer, I say to you that she loves you more truly than me, for you she loves and knows; but in me she loves only a shadow and a thought: a hope of glory and great deeds, and lands far from the fields of Rohan.
- Aragorn to Eomer, of Eowyn -- J.r.r. Tolkien
This is the ending. Now not day only shall be beloved, but night too shall be beautiful and blessed and all its fear pass away. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Forth, and fear no darkness! Arise! Arise, Riders of Theoden! Spears shall be shaken,swords shall be splintered! A sword day ... a red day ... ere the sun rises! Ride now! ... Ride now! ... Ride! Ride to ruin and the world's ending! Death! "Death!" Death! "Death!" DEATH! "Death!" Forth, Eorlingas!! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But I don't think I ought to leave my friends like this, after all we have gone through together. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
when he departed he gave him guides -- J.r.r. Tolkien
He thought much but said little. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Verily,' said Gandalf, now in a loud voice, keen and clear, 'that way lies our hope, where sits our greatest fear. Doom hangs still on a thread. Yet hope there is still, if we can but stand unconquered for a little while. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
May the hair on your toes never fall out! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
What shall we do, what shall we do! Escaping goblins to be caught by wolves is like out of the frying pan and into the fire! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The fragrance that came to each was like a memory of dewy mornings of unshadowed sun in some land of which the fair world in Spring is itself but a fleeting memory. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
He slept curled up on the hard rock more soundly than ever he had done on his feather-bed in his own little hole at home. But all night he dreamed of his own house and wandered in his sleep into all his different rooms looking for something that he could not find nor remember what it looked like. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
For it is now to us itself ancient; and yet its maker was telling of things already old and weighted with regret, and he expended his art in making keen that touch upon the heart which sorrows have that are both poignant and remote. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Yet it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The chief purpose of life, for any of us, is to increase according to our capacity our knowledge of God by all means we have, and to be moved by it to praise and thanks. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
No counsel have I to give to those that despair. Yet counsel I could give, and words I could speak to you. Will you hear them? They -- J.r.r. Tolkien
O Sam! cried Frodo. 'What have I said? What have I done? Forgive me! After all you have done. It is the horrible power of the Ring. I wish it had never, never, been found. But don't mind me, Sam. I must carry the burden to the end. It can't be altered. You can't come between me and this doom. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am he that walks unseen. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Let him go, you filth! Let him go! You will not touch him again! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
As they sang the hobbit felt in love of beautiful things made by hands and by cunning and by magic moving through him, a fierce and a jealous love, the desire of the hearts of dwarves. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Gandalf, dwarves and Mr. Baggins! We are met together in the house of our friend and fellow conspirator, this most excellent and audacious hobbit - may the hair on his toes never fall out! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
We like the dark," said all the dwarves. 'Dark for dark business! There are many hours before dawn. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
If all the seven stones were laid out before me now, I should shut my eyes and put my hands in my pockets. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Fifteen birds in five firtrees,
their feathers were fanned in a fiery breeze!
But, funny little birds, they had no wings!
O what shall we do with the funny little things?
Roast 'em alive, or stew them in a pot;
fry them, boil them and eat them hot? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Hige sceal pe heardra, heorte pe cenre,
mod sceal pe mare pe ure maegen lytlao.
( Will shall be the sterner, heart the bolder, spirit the greater as
our strength lessens. ) -- J.r.r. Tolkien
No thank you, O Smaug the Tremendous!" he replied. "I did not come for presents. I only wished to have a look at you and see if you were truly as great as tales say. I did not believe them. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Quite a merry gathering! ... What's that? Tea! No thank you! A little red wine, I think for me. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
He has led us in here against our fears, but he will lead us out again, at whatever cost to himself. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Bilbo was going to be eleventy-one, 111, a rather curious number, and a very respectable age for a hobbit (the Old Took himself had only reached 130); and Frodo was going to be thirty-three, 33, an important number: the date of his 'coming of age'. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The sound of her footsteps was like a stream falling gently downhill over cool stones in the quiet of night. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
If only that dratted wizard would leave young Frodo alone, perhaps he'll settle down and grow some hobbit-sense,' they said. And to all appearance the wizard did leave Frodo alone, and he did settle down, but the growth of hobbit-sense was not very noticable. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Wizards after all are wizards. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And he sang to them, now in the Elven tongue, now in the speech of the West, until their hearts, wounded with sweet words, overflowed, and their joy was like swords, and they passed in thought out to regions where pain and delight flow together and tears are the very wine of blessedness. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I cannot,' said Merry. 'I have never seen them. I have never been outside of my own land before. And if I had known what the world outside was like, I don't think I should have had the heart to leave it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
My political opinions lean more and more to Anarchy (philosophically understood, meaning abolition of control not whiskered men with bombs). -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I have forgotten much that I thought I knew, and learned again much that I had forgotten. I can see many things far off, but many things that are close at hand I cannot see. Tell -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Many evil things there are that your strong walls and bright swords do not stay. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
My own dear mother was a martyr indeed, and it is not to everybody that God grants so easy a way to his great gifts as he did to Hilary and myself, giving us a mother who killed herself with labour and trouble to ensure us keeping the faith. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Sorry! I don't want any adventures, thank you. Not Today. Good morning! But please come to tea -any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Good bye! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Elrond raised his eyes and looked at him, and Frodo felt his heart pierced by the sudden keenness of the glance. 'If I understand aright all that I have heard,' he said, 'I think that this task is appointed for you, Frodo; and that if you do not find a way, no one will. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came even to the City. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Galadriel his sister went not with him to Nargothrond, for in Doriath dwelt Celeborn, kinsman of Thingol, and there was great love between them. Therefore she remained in the Hidden Kingdom, and abode with Melian, and of her learned great lore and wisdom concerning Middle-earth. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
That's what I meant,' said Pippin. 'We hobbits ought to stick together, and we will. I shall go, unless they chain me up. There must be someone with intelligence in the party. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There is no curse in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of Men for this treachery. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I have found that it is the small everyday deed of ordinary folks that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love." ~ Gandalf (J. R. R. Tolkein ~ The Hobbit) -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But of bliss and glad life there is little to be said, before it ends; as works fair and wonderful, while they still endure for eyes to see, are ever their own record, and only when they are in peril or broken for ever do they pass into song. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
As she ran her gown rustled softly like the wind in the flowering borders of a river. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
He hated it and loved it, as he hated and loved himself. He could not get rid of it. He had no will left in the matter. A Ring of Power looks after itself, Frodo. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Frodo: Sam! Wood-Elves! They're going to the harbour beyond the White Towers. To the Grey Havens
Sam: They're leaving Middle-earth.
Frodo: Never to return. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I will take the Ring", he said, "though I do not know the way. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
You are wise and fearless and fair, Lady Galadriel,' said Frodo. 'I will give you the One Ring, if you ask for it. It is too great a matter for me -- J.r.r. Tolkien
At that moment there was a knock on the door, and Sam came in. He ran to Frodo and took his left hand, awkwardly and shyly. He stroked it gently and then he blushed and turned hastily away. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Frodo has been touched by the weapons of the Enemy,' said Strider, 'and there is some poison or evil at work that is beyond my skill to drive out. But do not give up hope, Sam! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
yes,' said Frodo. 'But do you remember Gandalf's words: Even Gollum may have something yet to do? But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed the Ring. The quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end. So let us forgive him! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Is there no escape then?' said Frodo, looking around wildly. 'If I move I shall be seen and hunted! If I stay, I shall draw them to me! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I do really wish to destroy it!' cried Frodo. 'Or, well, to have it destroyed. I am not made for perilous quests. I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I wonder if people will ever say, "Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring." And they'll say, "Yes, that's one of my favorite stories. Frodo was really courageous, wasn't he, Dad?" "Yes, m'boy, the most famousest of hobbits. And that's saying a lot. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The ring! exclaimed Frodo. 'Has he left me that? I wonder why. Still, it may be useful. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Sam, clinging to Frodo's arm, collapsed on a step in the black darkness. 'Poor old Bill!' he said in a choking voice. 'Poor old Bill! Wolves and snakes! But the snakes were too much for him. I had to choose, Mr. Frodo. I had to come with you. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Frodo: If you ask it of me, I will give you the One Ring. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Frodo: Mordor. I hope the others find a safer route.
Sam: Strider will look after them.
Frodo: I don't suppose we'll ever see them again.
Sam: We may yet, Mr. Frodo. We may. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I pity snails, and all that carry their homes on their backs. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Frodo gave a cry, and there he was, fallen upon his knees at the chasm's edge. But Gollum, dancing like a mad thing, held aloft the ring, a finger still thrust within its circle. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Every writer making a secondary world wishes in some measure to be a real maker, or hopes that he is drawing on reality: hopes that the peculiar quality of this secondary world (if not all the details) are derived from Reality, or are flowing into it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Don't leave me here alone! It's your Sam calling. Don't go where I can't follow! Wake up, Mr. Frodo! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am not going to do anything with you: not if you mean by that 'do something to you' without your leave. We might do some things together. I don't know about sides. I go my own way; but your way may go along with mine for a while. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There's earth under his old feet, and clay on his fingers; wisdom in his bones, and both his eyes are open,' said Tom. It -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Trolls are slow in the uptake, and mighty suspicious about anything new to them. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A nice pickle they were all in now: all neatly tied up in sacks, with three angry trolls (and two with burns and bashes to remember) sitting by them, arguing whether they should roast them slowly, or mince them fine and boil them, or just sit on them one by one and squash them into jelly. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Trolls simply detest the very sight of dwarves (uncooked). -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Ho, hm, well, we could, you know! You do not know, perhaps, how strong we are. Maybe you have heard of Trolls? They are mighty strong. But Trolls are only counterfeits, made by the Enemy in the Great Darkness, in mockery of Ents, as Orcs were of Elves. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The westward road seems easiest. Therefore it must be shunned. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I wish life was not so short,' he thought. 'Languages take such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change. And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Pay heed to the tales of old wives. It may well be that they alone keep in memory what it was once needful for the wise to know. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I look foul and feel fair. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
All the same, I wish it was over for good or ill,' said Pippin. 'I am no warrior at all and dislike any thought of battle; but waiting on the edge of one that I can't escape is worst of all. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
What then was this hope, if you know?' Finrod asked.
'They say,' answered Andreth: 'they say that the One will himself enter into Arda, and heal Men and all the Marring from the beginning to the end. -- 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
As they passed through the camp an old man, wrapped in a dark cloak, rose from a tent door where he was sitting and came towards them. "Well done! Mr. Baggins!" he said, clapping Bilbo on the back. "There is always more about you than anyone expects!" It was Gandalf. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There are many evil and unfriendly things in the world that have little love for those that go on two legs, and yet are not in league with Sauron, but have purposes of their own. Some have been in this world longer than he. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Gandalf: Three hundred lives of men I have walked this earth and now I have no time. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Nay! At least you are valiant. Beyond all whom I have met. And they lie who say that we of our part do not honour the valour of foes. See now! I offer you freedom. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I warn you, if you bore me, I shall take my revenge. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
He caught hold of Tom's leg - as well as he could, it was thick as a young tree-trunk - but he was sent spinning up into the top of some bushes, when Tom kicked the sparks up in Thorin's face. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
No, I don't think any harm of old Butterbur. Only he does not altogether like mysterious vagabonds of my sort.' Frodo gave him a puzzled look.
'Well, I have rather a rascally look, have I not?' said Strider with a curl of his lip and a queer gleam in his eye. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
An old man with a staff. He had a tall pointed blue hat, a long grey cloak, a silver scarf over which his long white beard hung down -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But they don't like the sun: it makes their legs wobble and their heads giddy. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
When winter first begins to bite and stones crack in the frosty night, when pools are black and trees are bare, 'tis evil in the Wild to fare. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Take now this Ring,' he said; 'for thy labours and thy cares will be heavy, but in all it will support thee and defend thee from weariness. For this is the Ring of Fire, and herewith, maybe, thou shalt rekindle hearts to the valour of old in a world that grows chill. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then holding the star aloft and the bright sword advanced, Frodo, hobbit of the Shire, walked steadily down to meet the eyes. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Take care! I don't care. Don't you worry about me! I am as happy now as I have ever been, and that is saying a great deal. But the time has come. I am being swept off my feet at last -- J.r.r. Tolkien
With hope or without hope we will follow the trail of our enemies. And woe to them, if we prove the swifter! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Fantasy (in this sense) is, I think, not a lower but a higher form of Art, indeed the most nearly pure form, and so (when achieved) the most potent. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
He will not serve, only command. He lives now in terror of the shadow of Mordor, and yet he still dreams of riding the storm. Unhappy -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Even the good plans of wise wizards like Gandalf and of good friends like Elrond go astray sometimes when you are off on dangerous adventures over the Edge of the Wild, and Gandalf was a wise enough wizard to know it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I don't deny it," said Frodo, looking at Sam, who was now grinning. "I don't deny it, but I'll never believe you are sleeping again, whether you snore or not. I shall kick you hard to make sure. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Hobbits!' he thought. 'Well, what next? I have heard of strange doings in this land, but I have seldom heard of a hobbit sleeping out of doors under a tree. Three of them! There's something mighty queer behind this.' He was quite right, but he never found out any more about it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The sky was clear and the stars were growing bright. 'It's going to be a fine night,' he said aloud. 'That's good for a beginning. I feel like walking. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The ring had given him power according to his stature. It -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Wonderful folk, Elves, sir! Wonderful!' 'They are,' said Frodo. 'Do you like them still, now you have had a closer view? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Few now remember them,' Tom murmured, 'yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Elves know a lot and are wondrous folk for news and know what is going on among the peoples of the land as quick as water flows, or quicker. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
You can't trust us to let you face trouble alone. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Since Men changed the language that they learned of elves in the days when all the world was wonderful. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Already he was a very different hobbit from the one that had run out without a pocket-handkerchief from Bag-End long ago. He had not had a pocket-handkerchief for ages. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I give you this toast: To the Hobbits. May they outlast the Sarumans and see spring again in the trees. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The yells and yammering, croaking, gibbering and jabbering, howls and growls and curses, shrieking and shrinking that followed were beyond description. Several hundred wildcats and wolves being roasted slowly alive together would not have compared with it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It is no bad thing celebrating a simple life. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It is said that he was the first of Men to reach the Great Sea, and that none, save the Eldar, have ever felt more deeply the longing that it brings. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Fair shall the end be,' he cried, 'though long and hard shall be the road! Say -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The hobbits began to feel very hot. There were armies of flies of all kinds buzzing round their ears, and the afternoon sun was burning on their backs. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the key-hole. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Adventures only make you late for dinner. -- 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
The wildest imaginings that dark rumour had ever suggested to the hobbits fell altogether short of the actual dread and wonder of Moria. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
In this meeting there may be more than chance; -- J.r.r. Tolkien
To his astonishment and terror, and lasting delight, Sam saw a vast shape crash out of the trees and come careering down the slope. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
One ring to rule them all. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Middle English is an exciting field - almost uncharted, I begin to think, because as soon as one turns detailed personal attention on to any little corner of it, the received notions and ideas seem to crumple up and fall to pieces - as far as language goes, at any rate. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am Bard, and by my hand was the dragon slain and your treasure delivered. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The war made me poignantly aware of the beauty of the world. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And if Sam considered himself lucky, Frodo knew he was more lucky himself; for there was not a hobbit in the Shire that was looked after with such care. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And here he was, a little halfling from the Shire, a simple hobbit of the quiet countryside, expected to find a way where the great ones could not go, or dared not go. It was an evil fate. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But if there are many of these ruffians,' said Merry, 'it will certainly mean fighting. You won't rescue Lotho, or the Shire, just by being shocked and sad, my dear Frodo. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Frodo began to feel restless, and the old paths seemed too well-trodden. He looked at maps, and wondered what lay beyond their edges: maps made in the Shire showed mostly white spaces beyond its borders. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
he says that the Men that have lately come over the Mountains are hardly better than Orcs.' 'That is true,' answered Sador; 'true at least of some of us. But the up-climbing is painful, and from high places it is easy to fall low.' At -- J.r.r. Tolkien
His sword, Sting, Bilbo hung over his fireplace, and his coat of marvellous mail, the gift of the Dwarves from the Dragon-hoard, he lent to a museum, to the Michel Delving Mathom-house in fact. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow,
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
None has ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the Master:
His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I shall claim full amends for every fall and stubbed toe, if you do not lead us well. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I did not hinder it, for generous deed should not be checked by cold counsel. It -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But if you would know, I am turning aside soon. I am going to have a long talk with Bombadil: such a talk as I have not had in all my time. He is a moss-gatherer, and I have been a stone doomed to rolling. But my rolling days are ending, and now we shall have much to say to one another. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
You will soon be well, if I do not talk you to death. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Oh! That was poetry!" said Pippin. "Do you really mean to start before the break of day? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Shall we mourn here deedless forever a shadow-folk mist-haunting dropping vain tears in the thankless sea -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is, where he came from. And if he was really evil at heart. What lies or threats led him on this long march from home. If he would not rather have stayed there in peace. War will make corpses of us all. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and grows again. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
His old life lay behind in the mists, dark adventure lay in front. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then hope unlooked-for came so suddenly to Eomer's heart, and with it the bite of care and fear renewed, that he said no more, but turned and went swiftly from the hall. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Faith then they vowed
Fast, unyielding,
There each to each
In oaths binding.
Bliss there was born
When Brynhild woke;
Yet fate is strong
To find its end. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I know I don't look old, but I'm beginning to feel it in my heart ... I need a holiday. A very long holiday. And I don't expect I shall return. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Still she did not blench: maiden of the Rohirrim, child of kings, slender but as a steel-blade, fair yet terrible. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then another clear voice, as young and as ancient as Spring, like the song of a glad water flowing down into the night from a bright morning in the hills, came falling like silver to meet them: Now -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The air was warm. The sound of the running and falling water was loud, and the evning was filled with a faint scent of trees and floewrs, as f summer still lingered in Elrond's gardens. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain, and the brook that leaps from hill to plain; but better than rain or rippling streams is Water Hot that smokes and steams. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It is less easy to find people in the woods and fields.And if you are supposed to be on the road,there is some chance that you will be looked for on the road and not off it.
-Frodo Baggins -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A hunted man sometimes wearies of distrust and longs for friendship. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Nay, the guest who has escaped from the roof, will think twice before he comes back in by the door. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Remember that the Mirror shows many things, and not all have yet come to pass. Some never come to be, unless those that behold the visions turn aside from their path to prevent them. The Mirror is dangerous as a guide of deeds. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
With their whips of flames they smote asunder the webs of Ungoliant. - The Silmarillion -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then he lifted up his hands and cried in a loud voice ringing above the din: The Eagles are coming! And many voices answered crying: The Eagles are coming! The Eagles are coming! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Let the unseen days be. Today is more than enough. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Frodo heard a sweet singing running in his mind: a song that seemed to come like a pale light behind a grey rain-curtain, and growing stronger to turn the veil all to glass and silver, until at last it was rolled back, and a far green country opened before him under a swift sunrise. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Indeed if fish had fish-lore and Wise-fish, it is probable that the business of anglers would be very little hindered. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The spirit of wickedness in high places is now so powerful and many-headed in its incarnations that there seems nothing more to do than personally refuse to worship any of the hydras' heads. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I was talking aloud to myself. A habit of the old: they choose the wisest person present to speak to -- J.r.r. Tolkien
You let them out again, Old Man Willow!' he said. 'What be you a-thinking of? You should not be waking. Eat earth! Dig deep! Drink water! Go to sleep! Bombadil is talking! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
For I am the daughter of Elrond. I shall not go with him when he departs to the Havens: for mine is the choice of Luthien, and as she so have I chosen, both the sweet and the bitter. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Of the twelve companions of Thorin, ten remained. Fili and Kili had fallen defending him with shield and body, for he was their mother's elder brother. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Don't dip your beard in the foam, Father!" They cried to Thorin. "It is long enough without watering it! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Well here we are, just the four of us that started out together,' said Merry. 'We have left all the rest behind, one after another. It seems almost like a dream that has slowly faded.'
'Not to me,' said Frodo. 'To me it feels more like falling asleep again. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But it may be the hard part of a friend to rebuke a friend's folly. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And in that very moment, away behind in some far corner of the city, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed reckoning nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
That was Thorin's style. He was an important dwarf. If he had been allowed, he would probably have gone on like this until he was out of breath, without telling anyone there anything that was not known already. But he was rudely interrupted. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
They cursed us. Murderer they called us. They cursed us, and drove us away. And we wept, Precious, we wept to be so alone. And we only wish to catch fish so juicy sweet. And we forgot the taste of bread ... the sound of trees ... the softness of the wind. We even forgot our own name. My Precious. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The Darkness has begun. There will be no dawn. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
You will not pass! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Fate has not been kinder to him than he deserves. The sight of the ruin of all that he thought so strong and magnificent must have been almost punishment enough. But I fear that worse awaits him. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
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. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A new day will come and when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
To him that is pitiless the deeds of pity are ever strange and beyond comprehension. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Courage will now be your best defence against the storm that is at hand- - that and such hope as I bring. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
true courage is not knowing when to take a life, but when to spare one"
~Gandalf -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Life is rather above the measure of us all (save for a very few perhaps). We all need literature that is above our measure
though we may not have sufficient energy for it all the time. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Thank you, Sam," he said in a cracked whisper. "How far is there to go?"
I don't know," said Sam, "because I don't know where we're going. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I have more need of thought than of sleep. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But where shall I find courage?' asked Frodo. 'That is what I chiefly need.' 'Courage is found in unlikely places,' said Gildor. 'Be of good hope! Sleep -- J.r.r. Tolkien
May the hair on his toes never fall out! all praise to his wine and ale! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then the prophecies of the old songs have turned out to be true, after a fashion!" said Bilbo. "Of course!" said Gandalf. "And why should not they prove true? Surely you don't disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A few melancholy birds were pipping and wailing, until the round red sun sank slowly into the western shadows; then an empty silence fell -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But if all the fair folk take to the Havens, it will be a duller world for those who are doomed to stay. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Perhaps I shall cross the River myself one day. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But perhaps you could call her perilous because she's so strong in herself. You , you could dash yourself to pieces on her, like a ship on a rock, or drown yourself, like a Hobbit in a river, but neither rock nor river would be to blame. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Seek for the Sword that was broken In Imladris it dwells; There shall be counsels taken Stronger than Morgul-spells. There shall be shown a token That Doom is near at hand, For Isuldur's Bane shall waken, And the halfling forth shall stand. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
That's done it! Now I've rung the front-door bell! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But the only measure that he knows is desire desire for power and so he judges all hearts. Into his heart the thought will not enter that any will refuse it that having the Ring we may seek to destroy it. If we seek this we shall put him out of reckoning. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Well, no need to brood on what tomorrow may bring. For one thing, tomorrow will be certain to bring worse than today, for many days to come. And there is nothing more that I can do to help it. The board is set, and the pieces are moving. One -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The nights were comfortless and chill, and they did not dare to sing or talk too loud, for the echoes were uncanny, and the silence seemed to dislike being broken - except by the noise of water and the wail of wind and the crack of stone. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I wonder,' said Frodo. 'It's my doom, I think, to go to that Shadow yonder, so that a way will be found. But will good or evil show it to me? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I don't keep water in my pockets."
-Frodo Baggins -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The romantic chivalric tradition takes, or at any rate has in the past taken, the young man's eye off women as they are, as companions in shipwreck not guiding stars. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
His knowledge was deep, but his pride has grown with it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I don't hold with wearing ironmongery. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay ... small acts of kindness and love. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Where did you go to, if I may ask?' said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along.
To look ahead,' said he.
And what brought you back in the nick of time?'
Looking behind,' said he. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Triteness is the penalty of appropriation. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Tall as the sea-kings of old, he stood above all that were near; ancient of days he seemed and yet in the flower of manhood; and wisdom sat upon his brow, and strength and healing were in his hands, and a light was about him. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There is still hope. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Not all those who wonder are lost. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I name you Elf-friend; and may the stars shine upon the end of your road! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you.
May the stars shine upon your faces! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Absurdly simple, like most riddles when you see the answer. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But there is such a crowd already in the house tonight as there hasn't been for long enough. It never rains but it pours, we say in Bree. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then Smaug spoke. "Well, thief! I smell you and I feel your air. I hear your breath. Come along! Help yourself again, there is plenty and to spare!" But -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then he called him Maeglin, which is Sharp Glance, for he perceived that the eyes of his son were more piercing than his own, and his thought could read the secrets of hearts beyond the mist of words. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A cloak of darkness she wove about them when Melkor and Ungoliant set forth: an Unlight, -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Ever will some new evil be hatched in Angband beyond the guess of Elves and Men, -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The legal bother, indeed, lasted for years. It was quite a long time before Mr. Baggins was in fact admitted to be alive again. The people who had got specially good bargains at the Sale took a deal of convincing; and -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The praise of the praiseworthy is above all rewards. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Until the coming of another day of fear, they walked in silence with bowed heads. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Your time may come. Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot be always torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I have an unsatisfied desire to shoot well with a bow. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Yet in two ways may a man come with evil tidings. He may be a worker of evil; or he may be such as leaves well alone, and comes only to bring aid in time of need. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But I am the real Strider, fortunately. I am Aragorn son of Arathorn; and if by life or death I can save you, I will. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then shouldering their burdens, they set off, seeking a path that would bring them over the grey hills of the Emyn Muil, and down into the Land of Shadow. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The Nazgul they were; the Ringwraiths, the Enemy's most terribly servants; darkness went with them and they cried with the voices of death. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The Lord of the Ringwraiths had met his doom. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The only just literary critic," he concluded, "is Christ, who admires more than does any man the gifts He Himself has bestowed. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Nienor ran on into the woods until she was spent, and then fell, and slept, and awoke; and it was a sunlit morning, and she rejoiced in light as it were a new thing, and all things else that she saw seemed new and strange, for she had no names for them. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But you speak of Master Gandalf, as if he was in a story that had come to an end.'
'Yes, we do,' said Pippin sadly. 'The story seems to be going on, but I am afraid Gandalf has fallen out of it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Better mistrust undeserved than rash words. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And sometimes you didn't want to know the end ... because how could the end be happy? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
At last reluctantly Gandalf himself took a hand. Picking up a faggot he held it aloft for a moment, and then with a word of command, naur an edraith ammen! he thrust the end of his staff into the midst of it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Much of the same sort of degraded and filthy talk can still be heard among the orc-minded; dreary and repetitive with hatred and contempt, too long removed from good to retain even verbal vigour, save in the ears of those to whom only the squalid sounds strong. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Where will wants not, a way opens. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I have spoken words of hope. But only of hope. Hope is not victory. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Yes, yes and i want to get unlost ... As soon as possible! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
No one, I fancy, would discredit a story that the Archbishop of Canterbury slipped on a banana skin merely because he found that a similar comic mishap had been reported of many people, and especially of elderly gentlemen of dignity. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
For such is the way of it: to find and lose, as it seems to those whose boat is on the running stream. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The trees and the grasses and all things growing or living in the land belong each ro themselves. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Many a man has a treasure in his hoard that he knows not the worth of. (Sellic Spell) -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Bilbo Baggins was standing at his door after breakfast smoking an enormous long wooden pipe that reached nearly down to his woolly toes (neatly brushed) - Gandalf came by. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
After some time he felt for his pipe. It was not broken, and that was something. Then he felt for his pouch, and there was some tobacco in it, and that was something more. Then he felt for matches and he could not find any at all, and that shattered his hopes completely. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament ... There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Let us enter! For it is only in the coming of Aragorn that any hope remains for the sick that lie in the House. Thus spake Ioreth, wise-woman of Gondor: The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Ho! Ho! Ho! To the bottle I go To heal my heart and drown my woe Rain may fall, and wind may blow And many miles be still to go But under a tall tree will I lie And let the clouds go sailing by -- J.r.r. Tolkien
PPPS. I hope Butterbur sends this promptly. A worthy man, but his memory is like a lumber-room: thing wanted always buried. If he forgets, I shall roast him. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The first of Sam and Rosie's children was born on the twenty-fifth of March, a date that Sam noted. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then he died; but he had neither burial nor tomb, for so fiery was his spirit that as it sped his body fell to ash, and was borne away like smoke; and his likeness has never again appeared in Arda, -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Yes, yes, my dear sir - and I do know your name, Mr. Bilbo Baggins. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Confusticate and bebother these dwarves!" he said aloud. "Why don't they come and lend a hand?" Lo -- J.r.r. Tolkien
He did not falter, as long as there was a path that led toward his goal. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Give to you; and if I have chosen my own time and way for handing it over, you can hardly blame me, considering the trouble I had to find you. Your father could not remember his own name when he gave me the paper, and he never told me yours; so on the whole I think I ought -- 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
There was more than one power at work, Frodo. The -- J.r.r. Tolkien
No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
This of course is the way to talk to dragons, if you don't want to reveal your proper name which is wise, and don't want to infuriate them by a flat refusal which is also very wise. No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time to trying to understand it. -- 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
These folk are hewers of trees and hunters of beasts; therefore we are their unfriends, and if they will not depart we shall afflict them in all ways that we can. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I declare the Mountain besieged. You shall not depart from it, until you call on your side for a truce and a parley. We will bear no weapons against you, but we leave you to your gold. You may eat that, if you will! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Venice seemed incredibly lovely, elvishly lovely
to me like a dream of Old Gondor, or Pelargir of the Numenorean Ships, before the return of the Shadow. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I will not walk backwards in life. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Is it nice, my preciousss? Is it juicy? Is it scrumptiously crunchable? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
We plunged into the deep water and all was dark. Cold it was as the tide of death: almost it froze my heart. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The original 'Hobbit' was never intended to have a sequel - Bilbo 'remained very happy to the end of his days and those were extraordinarily long': a sentence I find an almost insuperable obstacle to a satisfactory link. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I invented that little rhyme about 'One Ring to rule them all', I remember, in the bath one day. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Truly songs and tales fall utterly short of the reality, O Smaug the Chiefest and greatest of Calamities. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Old fat spider spinning in a tree! Old fat spider can't see me! Attercop! Attercop! Won't -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
such as the fact that Strider was called Trotter until a very late stage in the writing of the book; that Trotter was at one time a hobbit, so named because he wore wooden shoes; that -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And Aragorn the King Elessar wedded Arwen Undomiel in the City of the Kings upon the day of Midsummer, and the tale of their long waiting and labours was come to fulfillment. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Go not to the Elves for counsel,
for they will say both no and yes.
Elves seldom give unguarded advice,
for advice is a dangerous gift,
even from the wise to the wise,
and all courses may run ill. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
You shall not pass! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
So fair, so cold; like a morning of pale spring still clinging to winter's chill. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Some of my kin look just like trees now, and need something great to rouse them; and they speak only in whispers. But some of my trees are limb-lithe, and many can talk to me. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Gandalf thought of most things; and though he could not do everything, he could do a great deal for friends in a tight corner. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Is everything sad going to come untrue? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But he that sows lies in the end shall not lack of a harvest, and soon he may rest from toil indeed, while others reap and sow in his stead. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Deserves it! I daresay he does. 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. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
If you sit on the doorstep long enough, I daresay you will think of something -- J.r.r. Tolkien
he can see through a brick wall in time (as they say in Bree). But -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The eagles are coming! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Very well, Mr. Baggins,' said the leader, pushing the barrier aside. 'But don't forget I've arrested you.'
'I won't,' said Frodo. 'Never. But I may forgive you. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Saruman," I said, "I have heard speeches of this kind before, but only in the mouths of emissaries sent from Mordor to deceive the ignorant. I cannot think that you brought me so far only to weary my ears. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Where there are so many, all speech becomes a debate without end. But two together may perhaps find wisdom. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
They have seen Death and ultimate defeat,
and yet they would not in despair retreat,
but oft to victory have tuned the lyre
and kindled hearts with legendary fire,
illuminating Now and dark Hath-been
with light of suns as yet by no man seen. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And if you do come back, you will never be the same -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Never in former days would any high lord of this land have constrained a man to abandon such a quest as mine. My duty at least is clear, to go on. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The best rooms were all on the left-hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep-set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Nightingales sang about her wherever she went. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Most English-speaking people, for instance, will admit that cellar door is 'beautiful', especially if dissociated from its sense (and its spelling). More beautiful than, say, sky, and far more beautiful than beautiful. Well then, in Welsh for me cellar doors are extraordinarily frequent. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
No!" said Thorin. "There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell!" Then -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It's got to ask uss a question, my preciouss, yes, yess, yesss. Jusst one more question to guess, yes, yess," said Gollum. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Then the heart of Eowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter past, and the sun shone on her. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And then her heart changed, or at least she understood it; and the winter passed, and the sun shone upon her. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible, and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or of the kinds of writing that they evidently prefer. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Without the high and noble the simple and vulgar is utterly mean; and without the simple and ordinary the noble and heroic is meaningless -- J.r.r. Tolkien
And anyway he did not understand them; and he made the great mistake of leaving them out of his calculations. He had no plan for them, and there was no time to make any, once they had set to work. As -- J.r.r. Tolkien
He told them tales of bees and flowers, the ways of trees, and the strange creatures of the Forest, about the evil things and the good things, things friendly and things unfriendly, cruel things and kind things, and secrets hidden under brambles. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Did he say:"Hullo,Pippin!This is a pleasant surprise!"?No,indeed!He said:"Get up,you tom-fool of a Took!Where,in the name of wonder,in all this ruin is Treebeard?I want him.Quick"
-Pippin Took -- J.r.r. Tolkien
For behold! the storm comes, and now all friends should gather together, lest each singly be destroyed. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
A fair vision had welcomed him in this land of disease. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But do not despise the lore that has come down from distant years; for oft it may chance that old wives keep in memory word of things that once were needful for the wise to know. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Old Tom Bombadil water-lilies bringing Comes hopping home again. Can you hear him singing? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The main mark of modern governments is that we do not know who governs, de facto any more than de jure. We see the politician and not his backer; still less the backer of the backer; or, what is most important of all, the banker of the backer. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Who are you, Master?' he asked.
'Eh, what?' said Tom sitting up, and his eyes glinting in the gloom. 'Don't you know my name yet? That's the only answer. Tell me, who are you, alone, yourself and nameless? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
All have their worth and each contributes to the worth of the others. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
When Summer lies upon the world, and in a noon of gold, Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves the dreams of trees unfold;
When woodland halls are green and cool, and wind is in the West, Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is best! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone.'
I should think so - in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
treachery was in it. He slipped -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Fool of a Took!" he growled. "This is a serious journey, not a hobbit walking-party. Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
As I lay in prison, Sam, I tried to remember the Brandywine, and Woody End, and The Water running through the mill at Hobbiton. But I can't see them now. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Silver flow the streams from Celos to Erui
In the green fields of Lebennin!
Tall grows the grass there. In the wind from the Sea
The white lilies sway,
And the golden bells are shaken of mallos and alfirin
In the green fields of Lebennin,
In the wind from the Sea! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There indeed lay Thorin Oakenshield, wounded with many wounds ... -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Yet dawn is ever the hope of men. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Side? I am on nobody's side, because nobody is on my side, little orc. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Rally to me! To me! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It's more comfortable standing still thinking of nothing. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
If the elf-king had a weakness it was for treasure, especially for silver and white gems; and though his hoard was rich, he was ever eager for more, since he had not yet as great a treasure as other elf-lords of old. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It was the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain. So Bilbo guessed from Thorin's description; but indeed there could not be two such gems, even in so marvellous a hoard, even in all the world. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Creative fantasy, because it is mainly trying to do something else ... may open your hoard and let all the locked things fly away like cage-birds. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Legolas was standing, gazing northwards into the darkness, thoughtful and silent as a young tree in a windless night. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
What a mess are we in now! We! I only wish it was we: it is horrible being all alone. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Now goblins are cruel, wicked, and bad-hearted. They make no beautiful things, but they make many clever ones. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
If you're going to have a complicated story, you must work to a map; otherwise you can never make a map of it afterwards. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Though slow to quarrel, and for sport killing nothing that lived, they were doughty at bay, and at need could still handle arms. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
One who cannot cast away a treasure at need is in fetters. You did rightly. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Every man has something too dear to trust to another. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Have we ridden forth to victory, only to stand at last amazed by an old liar with honey on his forked tongue? So would the trapped wolf speak to the hounds, if he could. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
In this Music [the singing of the angels in harmony] the World was begun; for Iluvatar made visible the song of the Ainur,and they beheld it as a light in the darkness. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Just a plain hobbit you look,' said Bilbo. 'But there is more about you now than appears on the surface. Good luck to you! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Celtic 'is a magic bag, into which anything may be put, and out of which almost anything may come ... Anything is possible in the fabulous Celtic twilight, which is not so much a twilight of the gods as of the reason. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
What punishments of God are not gifts? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
What does your heart tell you? -- J.r.r. Tolkien
But you come with tidings of grief and danger, as is your wont, they say.' 'Because I come seldom but when my help is needed,' answered Gandalf. 'And -- J.r.r. Tolkien
When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
In doubt a man of worth will trust to his own wisdom. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
They themselves do not see the world of light as we do, but our shapes cast shadows in their minds, which only the noon sun destroys. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Real names tell you the story of the things they belong to -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Come, Mr. Frodo!' he cried. 'I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I have never had much confidence in my own work, and even now when I am assured (still much to my grateful surprise) that it has value for other people, I feel diffident, reluctant as it were to expose my world of imagination to possibly contemptuous eyes and ears. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It's some kind of Elvish.I can't read it. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars, not if you care for such things. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Upon his tomb the Elvenking then laid Orcrist, the elvish sword that had been taken from Thorin in captivity. It is said in songs that it gleamed ever in the dark if foes approached, and the fortress of the dwarves could not be taken by surprise. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Getting rid of dragons is not at all in my line, but I will do my best to think about it. Personally I have no hopes at all, and wish I was safe back at home. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The dragon is coming or I am a fool!" he cried. "Cut the bridges! To arms! To arms!" Then warning trumpets were suddenly sounded, and echoed along the rocky shores. The cheering stopped and the joy was turned to dread. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Each of us embodies, in a particular tale and clothed in the garments of time & place, universal truth and everlasting life. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I go now to my long rest in the timeless halls beyond the seas and the Mountains of Aman. It will be long ere I am seen among the Noldor again; and it may be that we shall not meet a second time in death or life, for the fates of our kindreds are apart. Farewell! -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Maedhros did deeds of surpassing valour, and the Orcs fled before his face; for since his torment upon Thangorodrim his spirit burned like a white fire within, and he was as one that returns from the dead. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
There is a place called 'heaven' where the good here unfinished is completed; and where the stories unwritten, and the hopes unfulfilled, are continued. We may laugh together yet. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
True education is a kind of never ending story - a matter of continual beginnings, of habitual fresh starts, of persistent newness. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
The wolf that one hears is worse than the orc that one fears. - Boromir -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Help means ruin and saving means slaying. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
though we still hold that a warrior should have more skills and knowledge than only the craft of weapons and slaying, we esteem a warrior, nonetheless, above men of other crafts. Such is the need of our days. So -- J.r.r. Tolkien
I don't want to be in a battle. But waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is even worse. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
For myself, I find I become less cynical rather than more
remembering my own sins and follies; and realize that men's hearts are not often as bad as their acts, and very seldom as bad as their words. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Keep your spirits up, hope for the best, and with a tremendous slice of luck you may come out one day and see the Long Marshes lying below you, -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Just why Mr. Frodo was selling his beautiful hole was even more debatable than the price. -- J.r.r. Tolkien
Do I hope in vain that you have been sent to me for a help in doubt and need? -- J.r.r. Tolkien