The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien - The One Ring

by **Alberich** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 3:32 am

Unwin wondered ‘which ones in this list are original Tolkien and which ones are really part of English folklore’ and points out that "All that is gold does not glitter..." is based on Shakespeare. Of the quotes that people have given so far, these are the ones that seem to be older proverbs (to my ear, as a speaker of British English, - I haven’t checked any reference books): It's an ill wind as blows nobody no good Late is better than never Handsome is as handsome does One ill turn deserves another Don't let your heads get too big for your hats Third time pays for all Make haste while the sun shines And these are ones where Tolkien has added a new twist to an old saying: All's well as ends better Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles I am almost certain that a bit of research would show that some of the others are also based on older sayings. But Tolkien certainly had a genius for coining new phrases in the style of traditional proverbs. By the way, should TORC adopt “even the most subtle spiders may leave a weak thread” as its official motto? <img src="http://www.tolkienonline.com/mb/i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif"border=0>

by **MithLuin** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 9:42 am

Actually, most of those are variations. Make haste while the sun shines is likely a variation of "make hay while the sun shines." All's well as ends better is "All's well that ends well" One ill turn deserves another is really "one good turn deserves another" and, of course, all that is gold does not glitter is a reversal of all that glitters (glisters) is not gold All of these proverbs can be found here:<a href='http://www.bartleby.com/59/3/' target=_blank>Proverbs</a>, though no sources are given, unfortunately.

by **Domhnall** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 1:29 am

"...a man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it." (Sador, Turin's servant.) UT, Narn I Hin Hurin

by **-Rómestámo-** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 9:35 am

'[...]when the great fall, the less must lead.' Aragorn to Eómer, after recounting the fall of Gandalf in The Riders of Rohan.

by **MithLuin** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 7:22 pm

Boromir and Aragorn bandy two before they enter Moria. (a paraphrase) The wolf one hears is worse than the orc one fears. Where the wolf howls, the orc prowls.

by **Unwin** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 10:37 pm

What I posted here originally was a duplicate. Funny, wasn't there when I first looked through Mith's list.

by **-Rómestámo-** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 10:18 am

'[...] More haste less speed [...]' Gollum descending the cliff in The Taming of Sméagol.

by **Unwin** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 10:50 pm

Memory is not what the heart desires. Gimli, ruing the day he met Galadriel.

by **Dunwen** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 3:15 pm

Books ought to have good endings Bilbo about books

by **MithLuin** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 5:57 pm

When heads are at a loss, bodies must serve. Boromir, after the snow on Caradhras. Legolas answers (a page later) with: Let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming.

by **Alcarohtar** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 6:36 pm

"The hands of a king are the hands of a healer"

by **smIsle** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 10:06 pm

Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised. Aragorn to Eowyn ROTK

by **Unwin** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 9:25 pm

Few can foresee whither their road will lead them, till they come to its end. Legolas to Gimli right before he sees Gandalf reborn.

by **FrodoTook** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:02 pm

A great thread worth revisiting and adding more to in my opinion.

"Not all tears are bad"

I hope to see more members add their favorites to this fine thread.

by **Unwin** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:49 am

I think we've raked LOTR clean.

But... As I was doing yet another rereading of the Hobbit, I realized that we don't need to limit ourselves to LOTR. Thanks for the kind words, FrodoTook, byt the way.

Here's one from the Hobbit, as the Professor skips over their stay at Rivendell.

"...things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating and even gruesome, may make a good tale...

by **Unwin** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 10:09 pm

Hello all. I hope the forum is still active. I started reading LOTR for the umpteenth time and became nostalgic.

I wonder if you all might have something to add. M

by **Unwin** » Fri Apr 14, 2017 12:46 am

It seems that I have found one that was not in the old lists from a decade ago.

“… things will go as they will; and there is no need to hurry to meet them.” (Treebeard)

The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien - The One Ring

LOTR Proverbs

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