ProverbHuman NatureEnglish origin1954

Not all who wander are lost

Meaning: Those who explore unconventional paths may have a deeper sense of direction than it appears.

Who said it? J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, 1954

Origin: From J. R. R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring (1954), in the riddle poem about Aragorn that begins "All that is gold does not glitter, / Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien was deliberately inverting the old proverb "All that glitters is not gold."

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