“The significance of a myth is not easily to be pinned on paper by analytical reasoning.”

— J. R. R. Tolkien, "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics," 1936

About J. R. R. Tolkien

1892 – 1973

English author of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings".

“Never laugh at live dragons.”

“Trees are not 'trees', until so named and seen.”

“The right has not decayed. We make still by the law in which we're made.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”