Not all who wander are lost

Posted by john on April 19, 2010 at 17:07

In Reply to: Not all who wander are lost posted by Matt C on April 19, 2010 at 07:53:

: Anyone have the origin of "not all who wander are lost..."?

: I am not looking for the JRR Toilken citiing... I have heard it prior to his writing... anyone? Thanks,

I've heard it attributed to William Shakespeare but I don't recall reading it in his works. I'm certainly no expert but I'd bet it is because he uses the line "not all that glistens is gold" (or something similar) in The Merchant of Venice. Tolkien may have borrowed that line but I think the "not lost wanderers" are his own.