J. R. R. Tolkien Quotes

Arise, go forth, and conquer as of old.

Every great crisis of human history is a pass of Thermopylae, and there is always a Leonidas and his three hundred to die in it, if they can not conquer.

Who asks whether the enemy was defeated by strategy or valor?

It is the same in love as in war; a fortress that parleys is half taken.

Only destruction of the enemy can be called victory.

There is no other course but the one we have chosen, except the course of humiliation and darkness, after which there will be no bright sign in the sky or brilliant light on earth? All this will make us more patient and steadfast, and better prepared for the battle which God blesses and which good men support. Then there will only be a glorious conclusion, where a brilliant sun will clear the dust of battle, and where the clouds of battles will be dispelled.

It is courage that vanquishes in war, and not good weapons.

Liberty knows nothing but victories. Soldiers call Bunker Hill a defeat; but liberty dates from it though Warren lay dead on the field.

People do not want words - they want the sound of battle - the battle of destiny.

It is inevitable that some defeat will enter even the most victorious life. The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated... it is finished when it surrenders.

There is no common sense in going to the field to fight and leaving a man at home to undo all that you accomplish.

We're at war against the ultimate evil in the world, and We're going to win.

I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.

War is a series of catastrophes which result in victory.

Sure I am of this, that you have only to endure to conquer.

Man is not made for defeat.

You don't always win your battles, but it's good to know you fought.

Have you heard that it was good to gain the day? I also say it is good to fall, battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won.

this battle is going to decide the fate of all America and it is preferable to die on the field of honour than at the hands of our executioners.

Arms once taken up should never be laid down, but upon one of three conditions—a safe peace, a complete victory, or an honorable death.

The people who remained victorious were less like conquerors than conquered.

I need some more to drink. I have a war to fight.

In war: resolution. In defeat: defiance. In victory: magnanimity.

At last I have won the Spanish war.

Why should fortune have made the Huns victorious over so many nations unless it where to prepare them for the joy of this conflict?