The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is about a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who lives in a hole.
Bilbo enjoys a peaceful life until a surprise visit by a wizard named Gandalf.
Although Bilbo with his simple life, Gandolf persuades Bilbo to join him and the thirteen dwarves to reclaim their lost treasure.
Although Bilbo and the dwarves are unsure of Bilbo’s worthiness, Gandolf gives Bilbo the role of the burglar.
The treasure is guarded by the dragon Smaug at the Lonely Mountain.
But first, The Hobbit, Gandolf, and the thirteen dwarves must face many deadly challenges before reaching the dragon.
Will Bilbo live up to Gandalf’s faith in him?
The Hobbit Quotes With Page Numbers
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 1, Page 3
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 1, Page 3
“This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 1, Page 4
“Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gandalf to Bilbo Baggins), Chapter 1, Pages 5, 6
“Good Morning!” said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.
“What do you mean?” he said. “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”
“All of them at once,” said Bilbo. “And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors, into the bargain.
…
“Good morning!” he said at last. “We don’t want any adventures here, thank you! You might try over The Hill or across The Water.” By this he meant that the conversation was at an end.
“What a lot of things you do use Good morning for!” said Gandalf. “Now you mean that you want to get rid of me, and that it won’t be good till I move off.”~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo Baggins), Chapter 1, Pages 5, 6
“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.’
I should think so — in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gandalf,), Chapter 1, Page 6
“Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not Today. Good morning! But please come to tea -any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Good bye!”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo Baggins), Chapter 1, Page 7
“This was the most awkward Wednesday he ever remembered.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 1, Page 11
“Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun.Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.Goblets they carved there for themselves
And harps of gold; where no man delves
There lay they long, and many a song
Was sung unheard by men or elves.The pines were roaring on the height,
The wind was moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.The bells were ringing in the dale
And men looked up with faces pale;
The dragon’s ire more fierce than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail.The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled their hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.Far over the misty mountains grim
To dungeons deep and caverns dim
We must away, ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him!”~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The dwarves singing), Chapter 1, Pages 14-16
“Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 1, Page 16
“May the hair on his toes never fall out!”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Thorin), Chapter 1, Page 17
“If you have ever seen a dragon in a pinch, you will realize that this was only poetical exaggeration applied to any hobbit, even to Old Took’s great-grand-uncle Bullroarer, who was so huge (for a hobbit) that he could ride a horse. He charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram in the Battle of the Green Fields, and knocked their king Golfimbul’s head clean off with a wooden club. It sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit-hole, and in this way the battle was won and the game of Golf invented at the same moment.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 1, Page 18
“Trolls simply detest the very sight of dwarves (uncooked).”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 2, Page 36
“Where did you go to, if I may ask?’ said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along.
To look ahead,’ said he.
And what brought you back in the nick of time?’
Looking behind,’ said he.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Thorin and Gandalf), Chapter 2, Page 42
“Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars, not if you care for such things.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 3, Page 47
“Now it is a strange thing, but 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, and take a deal of telling anyway.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 3, Page 48
“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 4, Page 55
“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 4, Page 55
“Why, O why did I ever leave my hobbit-hole?” said poor Mr. Baggins, bumping up and down on Bombur’s back.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo Baggins), Chapter 4, Page 63
“Go back?” he thought. “No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!” So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo), Chapter 5, Page 66
“Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.”~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gollum), Chapter 5, Page 70
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt,
It lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills,
It comes first and follows after,
Ends life, kills laughter.”~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gollum), Chapter 5, Page 71
“A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.”~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo), Chapter 5, Page 71
“Alive without breath,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.”~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gollum), Chapter 5, Page 72
“Is it nice, my preciousss? Is it juicy? Is it scrumptiously crunchable?”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gollum), Chapter 5, Page 72
“This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down.”~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gollum), Chapter 5, Page 73
“Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gollum), Chapter 5, Page 82
“Escaping goblins to be caught by wolves!” he said, and it became a proverb, though we now say ‘out of the frying-pan into the fire’ in the same sort of uncomfortable situations.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo), Chapter 6, Page 92
“out of the frying pan and into the fire”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo), Chapter 6, Page 92
“May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gandalf to the eagles), Chapter 7, Page 106
“Farewell,” they cried, “Wherever you fare till your eyries receive you at the journey’s end!” That is the polite thing to say among eagles.
“May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks,” answered Gandalf, who knew the correct reply.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The eagles and Gandalf), Chapter 7, Page 106
“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 7, Page 109
“There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gandalf to Bilbo), Chapter 7, Page 129
“The King beneath the mountains,
The King of carven stone,
The lord of silver fountains
Shall come into his own!His crown shall be upholden,
His harp shall be restrung,
His halls shall echo golden
To songs of yore re-sung.The woods shall wave on mountains.
And grass beneath the sun;
His wealth shall flow in fountains
And the rivers golden run.The streams shall run in gladness,
The lakes shall shine and burn,
And sorrow fail and sadness
At the Mountain-king’s return!”~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Singing Elves), Chapter 10, Page 182
“It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterward were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator about Bilbo), Chapter 12, Page 197
“You have nice manners for a thief and a liar,” said the dragon.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Smaug), Chapter 12, Page 204
“I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air, I am he that walks unseen.
I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number.
I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me.
I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo to Smaug), Chapter 12, Page 204
“No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (The narrator), Chapter 12, Page 205
“My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Smaug), Chapter 12, Page 207
“Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Biblo’s thoughts), Chapter 12, Page 209
“While there’s life there’s hope.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo), Chapter 13, Page 214
“I may be a burglar…but I’m an honest one, I hope, more or less.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo), Chapter 16, Page 248
“If you don’t like my burglar, but please don’t damage him.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gandalf), Chapter 17, Page 251
“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Thorin), Chapter 18, Page 263
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Thorin), Chapter 18, Page 263
“Farewell! O Gandalf! May you ever appear where you are most needed and least expected!”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Beorn), Chapter 18, Page 267
“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo), Chapter 18, Page 268
“The road goes ever ever on”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, Chapter 19, Page 273
“Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains of the moon.Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known”~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Bilbo), Chapter 19, Page 273
“Surely you don’t disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, (Gandalf), Chapter 19, Page 276
What is the most famous quote from The Hobbit?
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, The narrator, Chapter 1, Page 3
What is a good quote from The Hobbit?
“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, The Narrator, Chapter 4, Page 55
What are the last lines of the Hobbit?
“Then the prophecies of the old songs have turned out to be true, after a fashion!” said Bilbo.
“Of course!” said Gandalf. “And why should not they prove true? Surely you don’t disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!”
“Thank goodness!” said Bilbo laughing, and handed him the tobacco-jar.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, Characters: Gandalf and Bilbo, Chapter 19, Page 276
The Hobbit Book Summary
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, the tale of a small being called Bilbo Baggins who sets off on a journey of epic proportions.
The wizard Gandalf brings together Bilbo and a band of dwarves in an attempt to recover their home and riches from the dragon Smaug. Bilbo meets elves, trolls, goblins, and other creatures during his travels in a mysterious realm filled with peril and excitement.
Bilbo overcame all obstacles with boldness, wit, and luck and eventually reclaimed their prized possessions.
This timeless classic follows the daring journey of a brave hero and his captivating companions. Filled with thrilling plot turns and lovable characters, The Hobbit has enthralled readers for generations.