Quotessence
Home / Authors / J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien Quotes

Writer

Filter quotes by topic

AllIfsSaidMayRingsWorldFrodoMenHeartFellowship Of The RingEndsKnowsLongLord Of The RingStillsMiddle EarthReturn Of The KingDarkFrodo BagginsTwo TowersWells

Famous J. R. R. Tolkien Quotes

“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.”

PersonsLongSaidStillsYoungSpeakTalkingOne ThingChangedNeededHabitDearExplanationWisestRiddleDear Friend
Book:The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings
Create image

“If thou hadst thy will what wouldst thou reserve?" said Manwe. "Of all thy realm what dost thou hold dearest?" All have their worth," said Yavanna, "and each contributes to the worth of the others. But the kelvar can flee or defend themselves, whereas the olvar that grow cannot. And among these I hold trees dear. Long in the growing, swift shall they be in the felling, and unless they pay toll with fruit upon their bough little mourned in their passing. So I see in my thought, would that the trees might speak on behalf of all things that have roots, and punish those that wrong them!”

IfsLittlesLongSaidMightSpeakGrowsPayGrowingTreeAll ThingsRootsFruitDearPassingPassingsRealmsReservesMy ThoughtsBehalfTolls
Book:The Silmarillion
Create image

“So it ends as I guessed it would,' his thoughts said, even as it fluttered away; and it laughed a little within him ere it fled, almost gay it seemed to be casting off all doubt and care and fear. And even as it winged away into forgetfulness it heard voices, and they seemed to be crying in some forgotten world far above: 'The eagles are coming! The eagles are coming!' For one moment more Pippin's thought hovered. "Bilbo! But no! That came in his tale, long long ago. This is my tale, and it ended now. Good-bye!' And his thought fled far away and his eyes saw no more.”

WorldLittlesLongSaidEndsMomentsEyeCareVoiceDoubtSawsHeardCryGayForgottenTalesHis EyesLaughedFar AwayLong AgoCastingEaglesByeForgetfulnessGood ByePippinCasting Off
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

“Under the Mountain dark and tall The King has come unto his hall! His foe is dead, the Worm of Dread, And ever so his foes shall fall. The sword is sharp, the spear is long, The arrow swift, the Gate is strong; The heart is bold that looks on gold; The dwarves no more shall suffer wrong. The dwarves of yore made mighty spells, While hammers fells like ringing bells In places deep, where dark things sleep, In hollow halls beneath the fells. -from The Hobbit (Dwarves Battle Song)”

LooksHeartLongMadeSufferingSongFallStrongDarkSleepKingsBattleMountainGoldGatesHallsTallSpellsBellsDreadWormsFoeHammersHollowArrowsSpearsDwarvesDark Things
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

“Yet at the last Beren was slain by the Wolf that came from the gates of Angband, and he died in the arms of Tinúviel. But she chose mortality, and to die from the world, so that she might follow him; and it is sung that they met again beyond the Sundering Seas, and after a brief time walking alive once more in the green woods, together they passed, long ago, beyond the confines of this world. So it is that Lúthien Tinúviel alone of the Elf-kindred has died indeed and left the world, and they have lost her whom they most loved.”

WorldLongMightTogetherLastsDiesLostLeftAliveSeaThis WorldArmsWalkingMetsDiedGreenWoodsGatesMortalityLong AgoTinKindred
Book:The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
Create image

“Gil-galad was an Elven-king. Of him the harpers sadly sing: the last whose realm was fair and free between the Mountains and the Sea. His sword was long, his lance was keen, his shining helm afar was seen; the countless stars of heaven's field were mirrored in his silver shield. But long ago he rode away, and where he dwelleth none can say; for into darkness fell his star in Mordor where the shadows are.”

LongLastsHeavenStarsDarknessSeaFieldsKingsMountainShadowFairsShiningRealmsSilverLong AgoShieldsAfarHarperHelmMordor
Book:The Lord of the Rings: One Volume
Create image

“A great dread fell on him, as if he was awaiting the pronouncement of some doom that he had long foreseen and vainly hoped might after all never be spoken. An overwhelming longing to rest and remain at peace by Bilbo's side in Rivendell filled all his heart. At last with an effort he spoke, and wondered to hear his own words, as if some other will was using his small voice. "I will take the Ring," he said, "though I do not know the way.”

IfsKnowsWayHeartLongSaidMightLastsSidesVoiceEffortFilledLongingRingsSpokesOverwhelmingDreadDoomFrodoSmall VoiceForeseen
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

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

IfsGivingShouldLongHelpingFeelingsJoyLyingFeltDarkAdviceDangerLong TimeDeceitBlessScoundrelsDeceitfulFeeling Happy
Book:The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
Create image

“Dear me! We Tooks and Brandybucks, we can't live long on the heights.' 'No,' said Merry. 'I can't. Not yet, at any rate. But at least, Pippin, we can now see them, and honour them. It is best to love first what you are fitted to love, I suppose: you must start somewhere and have some roots, and the soil of the Shire is deep. Still there are things deeper and higher; and not a gaffer could tend his garden in what he calls peace but for them, whether he knows about them or not.”

KnowsFirstsLongSaidStillsI CanHigherGardenRootsRateDearDeeperHeightSoilHonourMerryPippinShireDear Me
Book:The Lord of the Rings: One Volume
Create image

“To the sea, to the sea! The white gulls are crying, The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying. West, west away, the round sun is falling, Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling, The voices of my people that have gone before me? I will leave, I will leave the woods that bore me; For our days are ending and our years failing. I will pass the wide waters lonely sailing. Long are the waves on the Last Shore falling, Sweet are the voices in the Lost Isle calling, In Eressea, in Elvenhome that no man can discover, Where the leaves fall not: land of my people forever!”

PeopleMenYearsLongLastsFallLostVoiceWaterWhiteSunGoneForeverFailingSeaLandCrySweetWindCallingLonelyWestRoundsWaveWoodsWideFlyingShipsShoreBoresSailingGreyFoamIsleGulls
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

“The woman turned and went slowly into the house. As she passed the doors she turned and looked back. Grave and thoughtful was her glance, as she looked on the king with cool pity in here eyes. Very fair was her face, and her long hair was like a river of gold. Slender and tall she was in her white robe girt with silver; but strong she seemed and stern as steel, a daughter of kings.”

LongEyeFacesHouseStrongWhiteDoorsHairKingsDaughterFairsRiversGoldGravesPityThoughtfulSilverTallSteelGlancesRobesSlenderLong HairEowyn
Book:The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings
Create image

“On two chairs beneath the bole of the tree and canopied by a living bough there sat, side by side, Celeborn and Galadriel... Very tall they were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord; and they were grave and beautiful. They were clad wholly in white; and the hair of the Lady was of deep gold, and the hair of the Lord Celeborn was of silver long and bright; but no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the starlight, and yet profound, the wells of deep memory.”

WellsLongTwoEyeAgeBeautifulSidesMemoriesWhiteLordTreeHairGoldProfoundDepthGravesSatChairsSilverTallStarlightGaladriel
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

“Roads go ever ever on, Over rock and under tree, By caves where never sun has shone, By streams that never find the sea; Over snow by winter sown, And through the merry flowers of June, Over grass and over stone, And under mountains of the moon. Roads go ever ever on Under cloud and under star, Yet feet that wandering have gone Turn at last to home afar. Eyes that fire and sword have seen And horror in the halls of stone Look at last on meadows green And trees and hills they long have known”

LooksLongHomeEyeLastsTurnsStarsKnownSunGoneFireTreeSeaFeetRocksFlowerHorrorMoonMountainStonesGreenWinterCloudsSnowWanderHillsGrassStreamsHallsCavesJuneMerryMeadowsAfar
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

“My name is growing all the time, and I’ve lived a very long, long time; so my name is like a story. Real names tell you the story of the things they belong to in my language, in the Old Entish as you might say. It is a lovely language, but it takes a very long time to say anything in it, because we do not say anything in it, unless it is worth taking a long time to say, and to listen to.”

LongRealStoriesMightNamesLanguageGrowingLong TimeLovelySay AnythingTwo Towers
Book:The Lord of the Rings: One Volume
Create image

“One felt as if there was an enormous well behind them. Filled up with ages of memory and long, slow, steady thinking; but their surface was sparkling with the present : like sun shimmering on the outer leaves of a vast tree, or on the ripples of a very deep lake. I don’t know, but I t felt as if something that grew in the ground—asleep, you might say, or just feeling itself as something between roof-tip and leaf-tip, between deep earth and sky had suddenly waked up, and was considering you with the same slow care that it had given to its own inside affairs for endless years.”

IfsThinkingKnowsYearsWellsLongFeelingsMightCareAgeEarthGivenFeltMemoriesBehindsSunTreeSkyGrewFilledAffairSurfaceEndlessEnormousLakesSteadyRoofConsideringLeafsVery DeepRippleSparklingEarth And SkyFilled Up
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

“Good Morning!” said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat. “What do you mean?” he said. “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?”

WantFeelsMeanLongSaidWishMorningSunGreenShiningBe GoodStuckFeel GoodGrassHatsEyebrowsShadyGreat Hobbit
Book:The Hobbit
Create image

“Of course, it is likely enough, my friends,' he said slowly, 'likely enough that we are going to our doom: the last march of the Ents. But if we stayed home and did nothing, doom would find us anyway, sooner or later. That thought has long been growing in our hearts; and that is why we are marching now. It was not a hasty resolve. Now at least the last march of the Ents may be worth a song.”

IfsHeartMayLongSaidEnoughHomeLastsSongCoursesGrowingMy FriendsMarchResolveSooner Or LaterDoomHastyEnt
Book:The Lord of the Rings part two the Two Towers
Create image

“I should like to save the Shire, if I could - though there have been times when I thought the inhabitants too stupid and dull for words, and have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them. But I don't feel like that now. I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot stand there again.”

IfsKnowsFeelsShouldLongHas BeensMightLyingFeltBehindsFeetStupidSafeComfortableBe GoodWanderFirmDullIf I CouldDragonsInvasionEarthquakesBearableFellowship Of The RingShire
Book:The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
Create image

“At last, Lady Evenstar, fairest in this world, and most beloved, my world is fading. Lo! we have gathered, and we have spent, and now the time of payment draws near." 'Arwen knew well what he intended, and long had foreseen it; nonetheless she was overborne by her grief. "Would you then, lord, before your time leave your people that live by your word?" she said.”

PeopleWorldWellsLongSaidLastsGriefLordThis WorldDrawsBelovedLive ByPaymentFadingForeseen
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

“I don't know how to say it, but after last night I feel different. I seem to see ahead, in a kind of way. I know we are going to take a very long road, into darkness; but I know I can't turn back. It isn't right to see Elves now, nor dragons, nor mountains, that I want - I don't rightly know what I want: but I have something to do before the end, and it lies ahead, not in the Shire. I must see it through, sir, if you understand me.”

IfsKnowsWayWantFeelsKindLongI CanDifferentEndsSeemsLastsLyingNightTurnsDarknessKnow HowMountainDragonsLast NightUnderstand MeLong RoadShire
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

“Great engines crawled across the field; and in the midst was a huge ram, great as a forest-tree a hundred feet in length, swinging on mighty chains. Long had it been forging in the dark smithies of Mordor, and its hideous head, founded of black steel, was shaped in the likeness of a ravening wolf; on it spells of ruin lay. Grond they named it, in memory of the Hammer of the Underworld of old. Great beasts drew it, orcs surrounded it, and behind walked mountain-trolls to wield it.”

LongBlackMemoriesDarkBehindsTreeFeetFieldsHugeMountainHundredLaysForestsRuinsChainsBeastMidstLengthSpellsEnginesSteelHammersHideousUnderworldTrollRamsForgingOrcsMordor
Book:The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of the Lord of the Rings
Create image

“Are you in pain, Frodo?' said Gandalf quietly as he rode by Frodo's side. 'Well, yes I am,' said Frodo. 'It is my shoulder. The wound aches, and the memory of darkness is heavy on me. It was a year ago today.' 'Alas! there are some wounds that cannot be wholly cured,' said Gandalf. 'I fear it may be so with mine,' said Frodo. '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?' Gandalf did not answer.”

YearsWellsMayLongSaidRealSeemsTodayPainSidesMemoriesAnswersDarknessMinesYears AgoBurdenHeavyWoundsShouldersTeethKnivesWoundedAcheAlasFrodoReturn Of The KingShire
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

“One writes such a story [The Lord of the Rings] not out of the leaves of trees still to be observed, nor by means of botany and soil-science; but it grows like a seed in the dark out of the leaf-mold of the mind: out of all that has been seen or thought or read, that has long ago been forgotten, descending into the deeps. No doubt there is much personal selection, as with a gardener: what one throws on one's personal compost-heap; and my mold is evidently made largely of linguistic matter.”

WritingMindMeanLongHas BeensMadeStillsMatterStoriesGrowsDarkLordDoubtTreeForgottenSeedsRingsSoilNo DoubtLong AgoLeafsSelectionGardenerMoldDescendingCompostBotany
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

“We are being at once wisely aware of our own frivolity if we avoid hitting and whacking and prefer 'striking' and 'smiting'; talk and chat and prefer 'speech' and 'discourse'; well-bred, brilliant, or polite noblemen (visions of snobbery columns in the Press, and fat men on the Riviera) and prefer the 'worthy, brave and courteous men' of long ago.”

IfsMenWellsLongVisionSpeechPressesBraveWorthyBrilliantFatsHittingLong AgoPoliteDiscourseColumnsCourteousSnobberyFrivolityFat ManNoblemen
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
Create image

“"We will make such a chase as shall be accounted a marvel among the Three Kindreds: Elves, Dwarves and Men. Forth the Three Hunters!" Like a deer he sprang away. Through the trees he sped. On and on he led them, tireless and swift, now that his mind was at last made up. The woods about the lake they left behind. Long slopes they climbed, dark, hard-edged against the sky already red with sunset. They passed away, grey shadows in a stony land.”

MenMindLongMadeHardLastsThreeLeftDarkBehindsTreeSkyLandShadowRedWoodsSunsetLakesGreyHuntersLeft BehindDeerPassed AwaySlopesKindredDwarvesSped
Book:The Lord of the Rings: One Volume
Create image