"Alboin Errol", in The Lost Road (1987). Compare this with "The lyf so short, the craft so longe to lerne" by Geoffrey Chaucer
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"I wish life was not so short," he thought. "Languages take such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about."

— J. R. R. Tolkien

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets ""I wish life was not so short," he thought. "Languages take such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about."" in the context of ""Alboin Errol", in The Lost Road (1987). Compare this with "The lyf so short, the craft so longe to lerne" by Geoffrey Chaucer" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "J. R. R. Tolkien" (Quotes, 1980s) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
J. R. R. Tolkien

About J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (January 3 1892 – September 2 1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, most famous for his classic high fantasy works.