78 'Lord of the Rings' Quotes, Including the Best Lines From 'Rings of Power'

Get inspired with the best quotes from the 'LOTR' books, movies and 'Rings of Power' series.

The Lord of the Rings books transcend time, language and almost any other imaginable barrier. Since J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy series was first published in the mid-1950s, it's been translated into 56 languages and spawned an equally epic film franchise, as well as one of the most dedicated fandoms of all time. But the LOTR franchise isn't just about adventure, elves, hobbits and creatures; it also boasts some seriously wise and profound words that apply as much to life on Earth today as they did to Middle Earth once upon a time.

If you're looking for a little motivation—whether to save the world from Sauron or just kick butt in your next Zoom call—here are 78 of the best Lord of the Rings quotes to inspire you to do your best, as well as answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the franchise's most iconic lines.

Related: How to Watch the Lord of the Rings Movies In Order

Lord of the Rings Quotes

1. “Not all those who wander are lost.” — Bilbo Baggins

2. “All’s well that ends better.” — Hamfast Gamgee

3. “Deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.” — Aragorn

4. “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” — Galadriel

5. “You step into the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

6. “Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” – Elrond

7. “It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish.”— Sam Gamgee

8. “Your time will come. You will face the same Evil, and you will defeat it.” – Arwen

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

10. “A hunted man sometimes wearies of distrust and longs for friendship.”— Aragorn

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11. “It is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing.” — Frodo

12. “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.” – Celeborn

13. “This day does not belong to one man but to all. Let us together rebuild this world that we may share in the days of peace.” – Aragorn

14. “Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.” — Gandalf

15. “Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror.” — Gimli

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16. “The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true.” – Galadriel

17. “Few other griefs amid the ill chances of this world have more bitterness and shame for a man’s heart than to behold the love of a lady so fair and brave that cannot be returned.” – Aragorn

18. “May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” — Galadriel

19. “I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.” – Arwen

20. “But in the end it’s only a passing thing, this shadow; even darkness must pass.” — Sam Gamgee

21. “In this hour, I do not believe that any darkness will endure.” — Faramir

22. “For behold! the storm comes, and now all friends should gather together, lest each singly be destroyed.” – Gandalf

23. “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.” — Sam Gangee

24. “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” — Gandalf

25. "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.”  – Haldir

26. “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” – Gimli

27. “He that breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.” — Gandalf

28. “The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.” — Gildor

29. “The Ring has awoken, it’s heard its master’s call.” – Gandalf

30. “It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing … such a little thing.”— Boromir

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31. “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.” — Frodo (quoting Bilbo Baggins)

32. “Who knows? Have patience. Go where you must go, and hope!” — Gandalf

33. “Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.” – Legolas

34. “Do not trouble your hearts overmuch with thought of the road tonight. Maybe the paths that you each shall tread are already laid before your feet, though you do not see them.” — Galadriel

35. “Don’t adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story.” – Bilbo Baggins

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36. “May your beer be laid under an enchantment of surpassing excellence for seven years!” — Gandalf

37. “The world is full enough of hurts and mischances without wars to multiply them.” – Warden

38. “This day does not belong to one man but to all. Let us together rebuild this world that we may share in the days of peace.” – Aragorn

39. “For the time will soon come when Hobbits will shape the fortunes of all.” – Galadriel

40. “Evil will be drawn to you from outside the fellowship. And, I fear, from within you must trust yourself. Trust your own strengths.” – Gandalf

41. “The board is set, the pieces are moving. We come to it at last, the great battle of our time.” – Gandalf

42. “You are the luckiest, the canniest, and the most reckless man I ever knew.” – Gimli

43. “You may learn something, and whether what you see be fair or evil, that may be profitable, and yet it may not. Seeing is both good and perilous.” — Galadriel

44. "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.” – Elrond

45. “Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.” — J.R.R. Tolkien

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46. “The wise speak only of what they know.” – Gandalf

47. “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you.” – Sam Gamgee

48. “Courage is found in unlikely places.” – Gildor

49. “It is not the strength of the body, but the strength of the spirit.” — J.R.R. Tolkien

50. "You shall not pass!" — Gandalf

51. "You can not hide, I see you! There is no life after me. Only death!" — Sauron

52. "No, thank you! We don't want any more visitors, well-wishers or distant relations!" — Bilbo Baggins

53. "When in doubt, follow your nose." — Gandalf

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54. "All shall love me and despair!" — Galadriel

55. “I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.” — Frodo

56. "I can avoid being seen, if I wish, but to disappear entirely, that is a rare gift." — Aragorn

57. "A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to." — Gandalf

58. "Fly, you fools!" — Gandalf

59. "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." — Bilbo Baggins

60. "It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing. Such a little thing." — Boromir

61. "Potatoes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew." — Samwise Gamgee

62. "You'll find more cheer in a graveyard." — Gimli

63. "War will make corpses of us all." — Faramir

64. "Do not be so quick to deal out death and judgment. Even the very wise do not see all ends." — Gandalf

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65. "The old world will burn in the fires of industry. The forests will fall. A new order will rise." — Saruman

66. "You have no authority here! Your orders mean nothing!" — Éomer

67. "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." — Samwise Gamgee

68. "I wonder if we'll ever be put into songs or tales." — Samwise Gamgee

69. "It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life." — Bilbo Baggins

70. "I thought up an ending for my book: 'And he lived happily ever after, unto the end of his days.'" — Bilbo Baggins

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Quotes

71. "There can be no trust between hammer and rock." — King Durin III

72. "There is no secret worth concealing with deception." — Elrond

73. "An avalanche can start with one stone." — Pharazôn

74. "Nothing is evil in the beginning." — Galadriel

75. "If we didn't do everything we weren't supposed to, we'd hardly do anything at all." — Nori Brandyfoot

76. "Beauty has great power to heal the soul." — Arondir

77. "Hope is never mere, even when it is meager." — Gil-Galad

78. "Everyone, each of us, needs to decide who we shall be." — Queen Regent Míriel

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What is the most famous quote from Lord of the Rings?

There are a few quotes from the Lord of the Rings books and films that fans often argue are the best or most famous. The most popular choices are:

• “Not all those who wander are lost.” — Bilbo Baggins

• “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” — Gandalf

• “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.” — Frodo (quoting Bilbo Baggins)

• “My precious!" — Gollum

• “Go where you must go, and hope!”— Gandalf

What is the "Is it safe" Lord of the Rings quote?

In the film adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf asks Frodo, "Is it secret? Is it safe?" At that point in the story, Frodo is the keeper of the ring, hiding it away even though he doesn't understand the full extent of the ring's power or its significance.

Is Lord of the Rings inspirational?

Lord of the Rings is inspirational in the sense that it has Christian and Catholic themes. Tolkien himself said of the series, "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion,' to cults or practices, in the imaginary world."

What does Gandalf say to Frodo?

In The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo tells Gandalf, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.”

Gandalf replies, “So do I, 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.”

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