30 The Hobbit Quotes on Bravery & Overcoming Self-Doubt

Check out this list of The Hobbit quotes that every J.R.R. Tolkien fan will enjoy!

The Hobbit tells the story of Bilbo Baggins and his adventure. He’s someone who keeps to himself and thrives in the comfort of his own home.

However, with Gandalf’s arrival in the Shire, his life unexpectedly turns upside down. Bilbo is challenged to go on an adventure to reclaim the treasure of the Kingdom of the Dwarfs. 

This task is enormous compared to Bilbo’s size. Though he was initially afraid to take it on, he mustered up the courage to overcome every challenge. Through this, Bilbo teaches us that we can succeed, no matter how demanding and perilous our life’s journey is.

Learn more about Bilbo, Gandalf, and their adventure through this list of quotes. We’ve gathered the best ones we’re sure you’ll love.

Let’s start our adventure here.

And don’t forget to check out these The Lord of the Rings quotes and Bilbo Baggins quotes.

Best The Hobbit Quotes

1. “The world is not in your books and maps; it’s out there.” – Gandalf

2. Bilbo Baggins: “I have—I have never used a sword in my life.”

Gandalf: “And I hope you never have to. But if you do, remember this: true courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.”

3. “Saruman believes that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I found it is the small things—everyday deeds of ordinary folk—that keep the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.” – Gandalf

4. “Loyalty, honor, and a willing heart. I can ask no more than that.” – Thorin II Oakenshield

5. “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.” – Thorin II Oakenshield

6. “Such is the nature of evil. In time, all foul things come forth.” – King Thranduil

7. “It is our fight. It will not end here. With every victory, this evil will grow. If your father has his way, we will do nothing. We will hide within our walls, live our lives away from the light and let darkness descend. Are we not part of this world? Tell me, Mellon, when did we let evil become stronger than us?” – Tauriel

8. “Where there’s life, there’s hope.” – Bilbo Baggins

9. “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.” – Thorin II Oakenshield

10. Bilbo Baggins: “Good morning.”

Gandalf: “What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me a good morning or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning. Or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on?”

Bilbo Baggins: “All of them at once, I suppose.”

The Hobbit Quotes That’ll Take You on an Exciting Adventure

11. Hobbit: “You! Mr. Bilbo, where’re you off to?”

Bilbo Baggins: “I’m already late.”

Hobbit: “Late for what?”

Bilbo Baggins: “I’m going on an adventure!”

12. “Sorry, I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not today. Good morning!” – Bilbo Baggins

13. “Go back? No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!” – Bilbo Baggins

14. “The road goes ever on and on.” – Bilbo Baggins

15. “May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks.” – Gandalf

16. Gandalf: “I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.”

Bilbo Baggins: “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! I can’t think what anybody sees in them.”

Gandalf: “You’ll have a tale or two to tell when you come back.”

Bilbo Baggins: “You can promise that I’ll come back?”

Gandalf: “No. And if you do, you will not be the same.”

17. “Do you smell it? The scent of fear.” – Azog the Defiler

18. “You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs, and a great many other things before we reach our journey’s end, Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you. The world is ahead.” – Gandalf

19. Thorin II Oakenshield: “I’m sorry I doubted you.”

Bilbo Baggins: “No, it’s fine. I would have doubted me too. I’m not a hero or a warrior—not even a burglar.”

The Hobbit Quotes to Reflect On

20. “All good stories deserve embellishment!” – Gandalf

21. “There is a lot more in Bilbo than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself.” – Gandalf

22. “Surely you don’t disbelieve the prophecies just because you helped them come about. You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck? Just for your sole benefit? You’re a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I’m quite fond of you. But you are really just a little fellow, in a wide world after all.” – Gandalf

23. “In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole full of worms and oozy smells. This was a Hobbit hole, and that means good food, a warm hearth, and all the comforts of home.” – Bilbo Baggins

24. Thorin II Oakenshield: “Where did you go, if I may ask?”

Gandalf: “To look ahead.”

Thorin II Oakenshield: “And what brought you back?”

Gandalf: “Looking behind.”

More The Hobbit Quotes for Everyone Who Enjoyed the Book

25. “And what would you do, if an uninvited dwarf came and hung his things up in your hall without a word of explanation?” – J.R.R. Tolkien, Author

26. “So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, Author

27. “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, Author

28. “There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are all over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, Author

29. “This is the story of how a Baggins had an adventure and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, Author

30. “No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, Author

What’s Your Main Takeaway From These The Hobbit Quotes?

Life is an adventure, and it’s up to us whether to partake in it or not. If we don’t and stay cooped up in our comfort zones, we’ll miss out on the best things life has to offer. But, if you go for it, even if you fail, then, in the end, you can say that you lived a life worth living. 

Bilbo Baggins was also faced with the same questions in The Hobbit. Will he go on an adventure with Gandalf and try to make a lasting difference in the world, or will he stay in the comforts of the Shire?

Though he was afraid, he took on the challenge and did his best until the very end. It’s the same in life; we’ll face many unknowns, and we can decide to give up right then and there. However, what makes a difference in our lives and others is if we make the most of what we have.

Yes, hardship will follow us wherever we go, but we can make something great out of it. You will never be able to choose the card life gives you, so why not just enjoy it?

Let these The Hobbit quotes serve as your inspiration. May the wise words from Bilbo, Gandalf, and their friends take you on an adventure of a lifetime!

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Karen Danao

Hi, I’m Karen, a content curator and writer for Quote Ambition; I’m also a marketing and advertising professional. Beyond the keyboard and the screen, I’m someone who’s out to enjoy every bit that life has to offer!

Poetry, philosophy, history, and movies are all topics I love writing about! However, my true passion is in traveling, photography, and finding common ground to which everyone from different cultures can relate.

With the many places I’ve been to, I found that love, inspiration, and happiness are some things that bring people together. No matter how different we are on the outside, I’m a true believer that our emotions don’t lie; if you dig deep into our psyche, we’re all the same inside.

This belief was further amplified when I joined Quote Ambition. Through the quotes I’ve read, collected, organized, and written about, I found that humans are resilient, creative, and compassionate.

We take from each others’ hearts and courage, and it’s through our individual experiences that we learn how to rise above our challenges and pain. In so many ways, Quote Ambition is a platform that allows people from all over the world to gain the inspiration they need anytime, anywhere!

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