40 J.R.R. Tolkien Quotes On Life, Love & More
“J.R.R. Tolkien Deluxe Edition Collection” by “Robert“, licensed under CC BY 2.0
You’ve probably heard of J. R. R. Tolkien if you like fantasy fiction. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a writer, poet, philologist, and author of over 45 essential books. His epic fantasy masterpieces ‘The Lord Of The Rings‘ and ‘The Hobbit’ are among his best-known works.
JRR Tolkien was a versatile writer and linguist born on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Tolkien, who had a natural talent for languages, invented over 15 new imaginary languages with amazing attention to detail, right down to the dialects.
He had a flair for the theatrical and was a recognized professor and instructor at Oxford University. After Tolkien’s death, his books were made into a succession of blockbuster films, resulting in considerably greater exposure for his work.
Check out this collection of JRR Tolkien quotes inspired by his works.
JRR Tolkien Quotes About Life
Tolkien’s books have established him as the “father of the modern fantasy genre” due to their ongoing popularity and influence. Tolkien’s other works include children’s stories unrelated to his fictional universes. Here are some of the JRR Tolkien quotes about life.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s imaginative prowess continues to motivate many even today. Several of his fans aspire to be writers, yet crafting storylines that remain pertinent today demands effort and innate talent. Nonetheless, with the aid of such service that adeptly transforms one’s ideas into a well-crafted and contemporary book, many individuals can find their path towards becoming authors.
“I will not walk backward in life.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE CHILDREN OF HÚRIN
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE LORD OF THE RINGS: ONE VOLUME
“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE LORD OF THE RINGS: ONE VOLUME
“Darkness must pass / A new day will come / And when the sun shines / It will shine out the clearer.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
“The wise speak only what they know.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN

“Courage is found in unlikely places.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE LORD OF THE RINGS: ONE VOLUME
“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. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE LORD OF THE RINGS: ONE VOLUME
“There’s some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
“Little by little, one travels far.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
“The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN

“Short cuts make long delays.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE LORD OF THE RINGS: ONE VOLUME
“A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it.”
J.R.R TOLKIEN
SOURCE : UNFINISHED TALES OF NUMENOR AND MIDDLE-EARTH
JRR Tolkien Quotes on love
At the age of sixteen, Tolkien met and fell in love with Edith Mary Bratt, three years his senior. Until he was twenty-one, Father Francis prevented him from meeting, conversing, or even writing to her. Tolkien sent Edith a declaration of love and asked her to marry him on the evening of his twenty-first birthday, literally at midnight. Tolkien understood what true love is as well as the boundaries. Here are some JRR Tolkien quotes on love.
“Yet. I want to see the wild country again before I die, and the Mountains; but he is still in love with the Shire, with woods and fields and little rivers.”
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
SOURCE : THE RETURN OF THE KING: BEING THE THIRD PART OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS
“I want to be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOUCE : THE RETURN OF THE KING: BEING THE THIRD PART OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS

SOURCE: THE SILMARILLION
“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
“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.“
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE LETTERS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN
“For we put the thought of all that we love into all that we make.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING: BEING THE FIRST PART OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS
“You have chosen the Evening; but my love is given to the Morning.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
“All shall love me and despair.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE LORD OF THE RINGS: ONE VOLUME
JRR Tolkien Friendship Quotes
Tolkien and three friends, Robert Quilter Gilson, Geoffrey Bache Smith, and Christopher Wiseman, formed a semi-secret society called “the T.C.B.S.” in 1911 while they were students at King Edward’s School in Birmingham. The initials stood for “Tea Club and Barrovian Society,” alluding to their fondness for drinking tea in Barrow’s Stores. The members kept in touch after leaving school. This shows that Tolkien valued friendship. Here are some of JRR Tolkien friendship quotes.

“A friend of mine tells me that I talk in Shortland and then smudge it.”
J.R.R TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE SILMARILLION
“Is there any pleasure on earth as great as circle of Christian friends by a good fire?”
J.R.R TOLKIEN
“We renounce no friendship, but it may be a part of friend to rebuke a friend’s folly.”
J.R.R TOLKIEN
“I am glad you are here with me, here at the end of all things.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
“Oh, it’s quite simple. If you are a friend, you speak the password, and the doors will open.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN

“Never thought I’d die fighting side by side with an elf.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
Legolas: “What about side by side with a friend?”
More JRR Tolkien Quotes
Tolkien’s published literature includes The Silmarillion and other posthumously published volumes and ‘The Lord of the Rings’, ‘The Hobbit’, and ‘The Adventures of Tom Bombadil’, which were all published during his lifetime. Here are some more JRR Tolkien quotes to enjoy.
“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
‘I am a Christian…so that I do not expect ‘history’ to be anything but a ‘long defeat’ — though it contains (and in a legend may contain more clearly and movingly) some samples or glimpses of final victory.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE LETTERS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN
“Basketball is a beautiful game when the five players on the court play with one heartbeat.”
J.R.R TOLKIEN
“If you do not believe in a personal God, the question: ‘What is the purpose of life?’ is unaskable and unanswerable.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN

“You have to understand the good in things, to detect the real evil.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE LETTERS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN
“It simply isn’t an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
“There is nothing like looking if you want to find something.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOUCE : THE HOBBIT CH.
“Deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.”
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
SOURCE : THE RETURN OF THE KING: BEING THE THIRD PART OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS
The prominence of Tolkien’s literary work has spawned decades of “Tolkien scholarship” and studies throughout the Western world and a significant amount of secondary literature produced by many experts and fans.
It takes a long time to weave an epic story, especially using 15 invented languages. If you’re curious about how long Tolkien took, you might be surprised to learn that he took 17 years! He composed the book to satisfy the curiosity of his readers who wanted to learn more about the hobbits’ world.
Let us know which of these JRR Tolkien quotes is your favorite.
You can also check out 40 Motivational Ruskin Bond Quotes On Life & Writing.
Curated by: Divya Singh