J. R. R. Tolkien Quotes

To judge between good or bad, between successful and unsuccessful would take the eye of a God.

There can be no proof that Blake's lyric is composed of the best words in the best order; only a conviction, accepted by our knowledge and judgment, that it is so.

Jesus wasn't real loving sometimes. He called the Pharisees vipers, snakes, whitewashed tombs. So, you have to understand the world in which we live is dangerous.

It's hard to judge literary merit.

There are three distinct kind of judges upon all new authors or productions; the first are those who know no rules, but pronounce entirely from their natural taste and feelings; the second are those who know and judge by rules; and the third are those who know, but are above the rules. These last are those you should wish to satisfy. Next to them rate the natural judges; but ever despise those opinions that are formed by the rules.

The Saviour of mankind Himself, in whose blameless life malice could find no act to impeach, has been called in question for words spoken.

God made the world, My Lord, and looked at it, and saw that it was good. Yes. But what if the world had looked back at him, to see whether he was good or not?

He alone can remit sins who is appointed our Master by the Father of all; He only is able to discern obedience from disobedience.

If Christ came back he would drive his treacherous servants out of the temple with a whip.

Artistic judgments are silly if expressed as dogmas, at least until we get an "artometer" which can measure objectively how many micro-michelangelos or kilo-homers of genius a given artifact has in it.

Man considers the actions, but God weighs the intentions.

Some judge of authors' names, not works, and then Nor praise nor blame the writings, but the men.

There is a natural disposition with us to judge an author's personal character by the character of his works. We find it difficult to understand the common antithesis of a good writer and a bad man.

We must be greater than God, for we have to undo His injustice.

The only reason that Jews are in pornography is that we think that Christ sucks. Catholicism sucks.

Any film that you see is never just the director. If it's a film that you love, it's not so easy to say, "Oh it's directed by this person - that means everything that person directs is going be wonderful."

Even if God exists, he's done such a terrible job, it's a wonder people don't get together and file a class action suit against him.

God looked upon His work and saw that it was good. That is where the clergy take issue with him.

It is the custom when praising a Russian writer to do so at the expense of all other Russian writers.

When poems are no good they don't make any sense.

I want to know what God thinks. The rest are details.

The world looks at what you have, while God sees who you have. The world's system is based on what you have done, while God looks at what Jesus has done on the cross for you.

Look to it, my dear friends, that none of you be found Christless at your appearance before him. Those that continue Christless now, will be left speechless then. God forbid that you that have heard so much of Christ, and you that have professed so much of Christ, should at last fall into a worse condition than those that never heard the name of Christ.

In God's eyes the most significant is often the most hidden.

The ancient man approached God (or even the gods)as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge: if God should have a reasonable defense for being the god who permits war, poverty, and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end in God's acquittal. But the important thing is that Man is on the bench and God is in the dock.