“Literature shrivels in a universal language, and an uprooted language rots before it dies. And it should be possible to lift the eyes above the cant of the ‘language of Shakespeare’... sufficiently to realise the magnitude of the loss to humanity that the world-dominance of any one language now spoken would entail: no language has ever possessed but a small fraction of the varied excellences of human speech, and each language represents a different vision of life ...”

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About J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien was an English philologist and writer of the early-to-mid 20th century. He crafted the sprawling fantasy world of Middle-earth, immortalized in *The Hobbit* and *The Lord of the Rings*. His work blends deep linguistic scholarship with rich mythic storytelling.

More from J.R.R. Tolkien (273 quotes) →
"Literature shrivels in a universal language, and an uprooted language…" — J.R.R. Tolkien | Daily Quotes