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J. R. R. Tolkien Quotes

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Famous J. R. R. Tolkien Quotes

“The news today about 'Atomic bombs' is so horrifying one is stunned. The utter folly of these lunatic physicists to consent to do such work for war-purposes: calmly plotting the destruction of the world! Such explosives in men's hands, while their moral and intellectual status is declining, is about as useful as giving out firearms to all inmates of a gaol and then saying that you hope 'this will ensure peace'. But one good thing may arise out of it, I suppose, if the write-ups are not overheated: Japan ought to cave in. Well we're in God's hands. But He does not look kindly on Babel-builders.”

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Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
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“I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

KnowsShouldWellsBookPartyHalfFamilyFantasyKnowingDrinkDeserveRingsBeerNovelistsFellowshipDeservingAmbiguousFunny FriendFrodoFellowship Of The RingFrodo BagginsLiking SomeoneLord Of The RingGreat HobbitI Liked You
Book:The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
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“Fare well we call to hearth and hall Though wind may blow and rain may fall We must away ere break of day Over the wood and mountain tall To Rivendell where Elves yet dwell In glades beneath the misty fell Through moor and waste we ride in haste And wither then we cannot tell With foes ahead behind us dread Beneath the sky shall be our bed Until at last our toil be sped Our journey done, our errand sped We must away! We must away! We ride before the break of day!”

WellsMayDoneLastsFallBehindsBreakJourneySkyWindBedMountainWasteRainBlowWoodsHallsTallDreadToilFoeHasteMistyErrandsMoorsSped
Book:The Lord of the Rings: One Volume
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“What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!' Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity.”

NeedsWellsLittlesHas BeensEndsHandsEvilHurtChanceCreaturesMercyStrikesRingsPityOwnershipFrodoLord Of The Ring
Book:The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
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“Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.”

WellsEndsEarthLastsEvilPeaceFriendshipSeaMiddleTearsDearGoodbyeShoreFellowshipSaying GoodbyeDear FriendMiddle EarthReturn Of The King
Book:The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of the Lord of the Rings
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“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.”

WellsChildrenSaidHandsEyeNightFeltVoiceArmsLaysDearDrivenEndlessGentleHis EyesClosingFrodo
Book:The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of the Lord of the Rings
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“But Sam turned to Bywater, and so came back up the Hill, as day was ending once more. And he went on, and there was yellow light, and fire within; and the evening meal was ready, and he was expected. And Rose drew him in, and set him in his chair, and put little Elanor upon his lap. He drew a deep breath. ‘Well, I’m back,’ he said”

WellsLittlesSaidLightFireReadyBreathsRoseExpectedEveningHillsMealsChairsYellowLapDeep BreathI'm BackFire WithinYellow Light
Book:The Lord of the Rings: The return of the King
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“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
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“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.”

IfsKnowsNeedsFeelsWellsLooksHeartMeanHas BeensToo MuchMy HeartTiredBreadNeed A ChangeFellowship Of The RingI Need A Change
Book:The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
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“His head was swimming, and he was far from certain even of the direction they had been going in when he had his fall. He guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment.”

ThinkingKnowsWayWellsMomentsUseHandsSeemsLyingCertainFallFeltCareersParticularColdMetsTinyRingsPocketsSwimmingMetalsTunnelsGood WayTurning PointsLying On The Floor
Book:The Hobbit
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“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
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“Human stories are practically always about one thing, really, aren't they? Death. The inevitability of death. . . . . . (quoting an obituary) 'There is no such thing as a natural death. Nothing that ever happens to man is natural, since his presence calls the whole world into question. All men must die, but for every man his death is an accident, and even if he knows it he would sense to it an unjustifiable violation.' Well, you may agree with the words or not, but those are the key spring of The Lord Of The Rings”

IfsKnowsMenWorldHumansWellsMayWholeStoriesHappensDiesNaturalLordOne ThingKeysSpringAgreeAccidentsEvery ManRingsWhole WorldViolationInevitabilityQuotingObituaryNatural DeathInevitability Of Death
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
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“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
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“Pippin: I didn't think it would end this way. Gandalf: End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path... One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass... And then you see it. Pippin: What? Gandalf?... See what? Gandalf: White shores... and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise. Pippin: Well, that isn't so bad. Gandalf: No... No it isn't.”

ThinkingWorldWayWellsEndsCountryTurnsWhitePathJourneyThis WorldRainGreenGlassesRingsSilverShoreSunriseGreyCurtainsReturn Of The KingPippin
Author:J. R. R. Tolkien
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“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
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“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
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