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Bilbo is my favorite Hobbit character and on this fan page you'll find a brilliant selection of Bilbo Baggins quotes from The Hobbit book and also from The Lord of the Rings. He is the main character from An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of Five Armies.

Bilbo appears in both The Hobbit and then, 60 years later in his character's life, in The Lord of the Rings books written by J. R. R. Tolkien and also the movies as directed by Peter Jackson. He is hired as a very unlikely burglar by Gandalf the Wizard to help reclaim the treasure hoarded by the Dragon at The Lonely Mountain.

If you are a LOTR, Hobbit and Tolkien fantasy fan or geek like me or you're looking for some inspiration for that perfect fantasy quote, you've found just the right place with some of these gems of inspiration which are all taken from the original book versions.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links for which I can be compensated.

Best Bilbo Baggins Quotes From the Hobbit Book and LOTR: Bilbo on Adventures

What Bilbo thinks to going on Adventures! "Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things."

Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.

“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.” ~ The Hobbit

“Also I should like to know about risks, out-of-pocket expenses, time required and remuneration, and so forth” – by which he meant: “What am I going to get out of it? and am I going to come back alive?” ~ The Hobbit

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” ~ The Fellowship of the Ring

The character we see at the start of The Hobbit book is completely different to the one that emerges at the end. We have to remember that most Hobbits are not adventurous at all and rarely travel far from home.

“Bother burgling and everything to do with it! I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!” ~ The Hobbit

“This is the dreariest and dullest part of all this wretched, tiresome, uncomfortable adventure! I wish I was back in my hobbit-hole by my own warm fireside with the lamp shining!” ~ The Hobbit

“I have absolutely no use for dragon-guarded treasures, and the whole lot could stay here for ever, if only I could wake up and find this beastly tunnel was my own front-hall at home!” ~ The Hobbit

He endures a lot of homesickness during the beginning of his adventure and frequently wishes himself back in his Bag End home.

“If you want food, and if you want to go on with this silly adventure – it’s yours after all and not mine – you had better slap your arms and rub your legs and try and help me get the others out while there is a chance!” ~ The Hobbit

“Go back?” he thought. “No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!” ~ The Hobbit

At this point, Bilbo is resigned to getting on with the adventure despite not wanting to be involved. You often find him trying to talk some sense into the dwarves he is helping. They need a lot more pep talks than he does.

“I have absolutely no use for dragon-guarded treasures, and the whole lot could stay here for ever, if only I could wake up and find this beastly tunnel was my own front-hall at home!” ~ The Hobbit

“This is a bitter adventure, if it must end so; and not a mountain of gold can amend it. Yet I am glad that I have shared in your perils – that has been more than any Baggins deserves.” ~ The Hobbit

Bilbo is not motivated by the treasure guarded by Smaug the Dragon in the same way that the greedy Dwarves are. The Dwarves, especially Thorin Oakenshield, get rather ridiculous over the treasure and how far they will go to keep anyone else from having it.

“I want to see mountains again, Gandalf – mountains; and then find somewhere where I can rest. In peace and quiet, without a lot of relatives prying around, and a string of confounded visitors hanging on the bell. I might find somewhere where I can finish my book. I have thought of a nice ending for it: and he lived happily ever after to the end of his days.” ~ The Fellowship of the Ring

Bilbo talking about his very last and final adventure where he longs to be somewhere quiet, far away from other Hobbits and his home at Bag End.

Bilbo would never have managed on his adventure without his sword. Sting was an ancient elvish sword which was discovered by Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit and which he passed on to Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings.

The unique property of the sword Sting meant that it glowed blue whenever Orcs were near. You can read more on the sword known as Sting in my Sting, the Hobbit sword facts page.

Bilbo Baggins Quotes on Smaug the Dragon

Weta model of Smaug the Hobbit dragon, sleeping.

Image Credit: Shared by Chris Hamby on Flickr with a CC License

“Don’t be a fool, Bilbo Baggins!” he said to himself, “thinking of dragons and all that outlandish nonsense at your age!” ~ The Hobbit

Bilbo is having a hard time imagining what possible use he will be on an adventure that involves a real, live dragon. How on earth can a quiet and timid character such as himself be considering anything of the sort?

“The dragon is still alive and in the halls under the Mountain then – or I imagine so from the smoke,” said the hobbit. ~ The Hobbit

Here Bilbo really states the obvious. His nerves are showing through.

“I was not engaged to kill dragons, that is warrior’s work, but to steal treasure.” ~ The Hobbit

Bilbo is the only character brave enough to face the dragon. The dwarves, who are warriors, expect miracles from this tiny little creature. The problem was, they don't really seem to have an actual plan on how to get their treasure back and they rely too much on Bilbo to help out.

“Old Smaug is weary and asleep,” he thought. “He can’t see me and he won’t hear me. Cheer up Bilbo!” ~ The Hobbit

Bilbo tries to convince himself that everything is fine and the dragon is asleep. Or is he?

“We came over hill and under hill, be wave and wind, for Revenge. Surely, O Smaug the unassessably wealthy, you must realize that your success has made you some bitter enemies?” ~ The Hobbit

“Truly there can nowhere be found the equal of Lord Smaug the Impenetrable. What magnificence to possess a waistcoat of fine diamonds!” ~ The Hobbit

Bilbo tricks Smaug the dragon into revealing his one weak spot. It proves to be Smaug's undoing.

“Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!” ~ The Hobbit

Bilbo realizes just how dangerous dragons can be when you mock them. He got carried away with himself and was lucky to escape unharmed.

“We are armed, but what good has any armour ever been before against Smaug the Dreadful?” ~ The Hobbit

This comes just after Bilbo discovers a priceless coat of Mithril among the dragon's treasure hoard.

Quotations by Bilbo Baggins on Other People

Image Credit: Original image shared by reginaspics on Pixabay with a CC License

Tolkien explained that Bilbo was a bit of a loner who had no real close friends and also kept his distance from his relatives. The only person he was especially fond of was his younger cousin, Frodo Baggins.

Frodo was adopted by Bilbo after his parents died in a boating accident and Frodo warmly referred to Bilbo as uncle. This was done out of respect for the age gap even though they were cousins.

“Are all these children yours? Gracious, you have been productive.” From the movie version only, The Fellowship of the Ring

“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you, half as well as you deserve.” ~ The Fellowship of the Ring

“In peace and quiet, without a lot of relatives prying around, and a string of confounded visitors hanging on the bell” ~ The Fellowship of the Ring

I love how these quotes show Bilbo's rather sarcastic nature and almost a scorn for other Hobbits. We have to remember how intelligent he is from all the reading and learning he does. It gives him a bit of a superior quality.

“Thirdly and finally, he said, I wish to make an ANNOUNCEMENT. He spoke this last word so loudly and suddenly that everyone sat up who still could. I regret to announce that – though, as I said, elventy-one years is far too short a time to spend among you – this is the END. I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!” ~ The Fellowship of the Ring

“I feel I need a holiday, a very long holiday, as I have told you before. Probably a permanent holiday: I don’t expect I shall return. In fact, I don’t mean to, and I have made all the arrangements.” ~ The Fellowship of the Ring

Bilbo cannot wait to get away from Hobbiton and find some peace for the end of his days. He is not expecting to come back from this final adventure. It's the very last stage of his life and he's looking forward to doing it his way.

“Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.” ~ The Fellowship of the Ring

This quotation is referring to how possessing the One Ring has made Bilbo feel. The One Ring affects everyone who owns it and it takes a toll. We see a more rapid deterioration with Frodo because he wears it round his neck as a heavy burden. But, with Bilbo, the change is more gradual.

Bilbo Quotes on Food and Cooking

Hobbit food is good old-fashioned cooking from mostly home grown ingredients. They make their own bread, cakes, meat pies and more.

Image Credit: Original image shared by The_Dorset_Knob on Pixabay with a CC License

Folk of the Shire really do over obsess about eating and meal times. Hobbits really adore their food and they tend to love simple and rustic food and drink such as soups, stews, home-brewed beer, roast meats and fruit like blackberries and apples which they grow themselves and pick.

In The Hobbit where the dwarves all come round to tea unexpectedly, Bilbo serves them a great selection of food. He offers the dwarves red wine, porter, beer, ale, coffee and tea to drink. To eat, they have seed cakes, apple tart, buttered scones, raspberry jam, mince pies, pork pies, cheese, cold chicken, salad, hard-boiled eggs, pickles and biscuits. Thankfully for Bilbo, the Dwarves at least did the washing up.

“And please don’t cook me, kind sirs! I am a good cook myself, and cook better than I cook, if you see what I mean. I’ll cook beautifully for you, a perfectly beautiful breakfast for you, if only you won’t have me for supper.” ~ The Hobbit

“The summer is getting on down below,” thought Bilbo, “and haymaking is going on and picnics. They will be harvesting and blackberrying, before we even begin to go down the other side at this rate.” ~ The Hobbit

“Now I know what a piece of bacon feels like when it is suddenly picked out of the pan on a fork and put back on the shelf!” ~ The Hobbit

“I would give a good deal for the feel of a strong drink in my throat, and for a soft bed after a good supper!” ~ The Hobbit

The type of food most enjoyed by Hobbits such as Bilbo Baggins is of a very simple, rustic, English Country style. Hobbits grew their own produce and made their own beer. Potatoes were a staple food particularly enjoyed by hobbits such as Samwise Gamgee.

Bilbo's Leaving Speech Quotes

Bilbo shown with Gandalf the wizard in his Hobbit home of Bag End.

Image Credit: Original image shared by Ashreila on Pixabay with a CC License

Bilbo Baggin’s leaving speech as he prepares to leave Hobbiton is a very powerful one, particularly as he simply vanishes at the end. You can read the full leaving speech that Bilbo gave in the chapter A Long-Expected Party which is in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

“Today is my one hundred and eleventh birthday: I am eleventy-one today!”

“… I am immensely fond of you all, and that eleventy-one years is too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable hobbits.”

“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

“For it is, of course, also the birthday of my heir and nephew, Frodo. He comes of age and into his inheritance today.”

“Together we score one hundred and forty-four. Your numbers were chosen to fit this remarkable total: One Gross, if I may use the expression.”

“Thirdly and finally,” he said, “I wish to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.”

“I regret to announce that – though, as I said, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to spend among you – this is the END. I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!”

If you love Bilbo Baggins then do read, or even re-read, The Hobbit in which Bilbo is the main character. If you purchase the digital Kindle book version, you can highlight all the quotations that you particularly enjoy and they will then be saved for you so you can read them every time you open the book. That's a feature I really love about the Kindle.

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Page Last Updated: August 13th, 2018