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30 of The The Best J.R.R. Tolkien Quotes


Amazon has already confirmed that they're developing a Lord of the Rings TV series, and to remind us how awesome J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy franchise is, we've compiled the best quotes that Tolkien wrote as well as quotes from the films. 

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We've posted some of these Tolkien quotes in our Best Book Quotes page before, but there's a lot here that we haven't shared on that page. Check out Tolkien's unforgettable quotes below: 

  1. Many that live deserve death...

    “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.”  

    ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

  2. The Road goes ever on and on...

    “The Road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with eager feet, Until it joins some larger way Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say”

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Fellowship of the Ring

  3. I will not say do not weep,...

    “I will not say, do not weep, for not all tears are an evil.”

    ― J.R.R. Tolkien

  4. Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens

    "Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens"

    ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

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

    “I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

    "So do I," said Gandalf, "and 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 us.”

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Fellowship of the Ring

     

  6. I warn you, if you bore me...

    “I warn you, if you bore me, I shall take my revenge.”

    ― J.R.R. Tolkien

  7. Short cuts make long delays.

    “Short cuts make long delays.”

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Fellowship of the Ring

  8. The world is indeed full of peril...

     

     

    "The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater"

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Fellowship of the Ring

  9. All that is gold does not glitter

    All that is gold does not glitter,

    Not all those who wander are lost;

    The old that is strong does not wither,

    Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

    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

  10. Home is now behind you, the world is ahead!

    “Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are all alight. Then world behind and home ahead, We'll wander back and home to bed. Mist and twilight, cloud and shade, Away shall fade! Away shall fade!”

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Fellowship of the Ring

     

  11. It's the job that's never started...

    “It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish.”

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Lord of the Rings

  12. It's a dangerous business going out your door...

    “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. TolkienThe Lord of the Rings

  13. Still round the corner there may wait...

    “Still round the corner there may wait A new road or a secret gate And though I oft have passed them by A day will come at last when I Shall take the hidden paths that run West of the Moon, East of the Sun.”

    ― J.R.R. Tolkien

     

  14. A man that flies from his fear....

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

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Children of Húrin

  15. Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check...

    “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

  16. And he took her in his arms...

    “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

  17. The wide world is all about you...

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

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Fellowship of the Ring

  18. Never laugh at live dragons

    "Never laugh at live dragons" ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

  19. It is useless to meet revenge with revenge...

    “It is useless to meet revenge with revenge; it will heal nothing.”

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Return of the King

  20. Deep roots are not reached by the frost

    "Deep roots are not reached by the frost"

    ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

  21. I will not walk backward in life

    “I will not walk backward in life.”

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Children of Húrin

  22. May the wind under your wings bear you...

    “May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks.”

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Hobbit

  23. Darkness must pass...

    “I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. 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.”  ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Two Towers

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

    “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future”

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Fellowship of the Ring

  25. Such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world...

    'At least for a while,' said Elrond. 'The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strenght nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. 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.”

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Fellowship of the Ring

  26. Deeds will not be less valiant...

    “A time may come soon," said he, "when none will return. Then there will be need of valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defence of your homes. Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised."

    ― J.R.R. TolkienThe Return of the King

  27. Courage is found in unlikely places

    “Courage is found in unlikely places.”

    ― J.R.R. Tolkien

  28. No half-heartedness and no worldly fear...

     

    "No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.” ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

  29. A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities

    “A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities.”

    ― J.R.R. Tolkien

  30. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

    “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

    ― J.R.R. Tolkien

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