'The skipper's luck is in,' murmured Bonden[.] [...] 'I only hope it's not come in too hearty, that's all[.]' [...]
Joe nodded. Although he was a heavy man, he perfectly grasped the meaning of Bonden's 'luck.' It was not chance, commonplace good fortune, far from it, but a different concept altogether, one of an almost religious nature, like the favour of some god or even in extreme cases like possession; and if it came in too hearty it might prove fatal – too fiery an embrace entirely. In any event it had to be treated with great respect, rarely named, referred to by allusion or alias, never explained. There was no clear necessary connection with moral worth nor with beauty but its possessors were generally well-liked men and tolerably good-looking: and it was often seen to go with a particular kind of happiness. It was this quality, much more than his prizes, the perceived cause rather than the effect, that had made the lower deck speak of Lucky Jack Aubrey early in his career; and it was a piety at the same old heathen level that now made Bonden deprecate any excess.
And again in O'Brian's The Reverse of the Medal, p. 71:
It was a question of the man's luck, a quality or rather an influence that sometimes set all one way, for good or bad, and sometimes shifted like a tide, but a tide whose ebb and flow obeyed laws that no ordinary men could see. [...] [B]roadly speaking luck and unluck were held to have little or nothing to do with virtue or vice, amiability or its reverse. Luck was not a matter of deserts. It was a free gift, like beauty in a very young woman, independent of the person it adorned; though just as beauty could be spoilt by frizzed hair and the like so ill-luck could certainly be provoked by given forms of conduct such as wanton pride, boasting of success, or an impious disregard for custom.
In The Hobbit, luck is treated as a personal possession -- one that may be conferred at birth -- and naming it does not necessarily undermine or destroy it. Here are some references to Bilbo's luck (from the HarperCollinsPublishers 2016 facsimile edition of the original 1937 Hobbit):
- ch. V, p. 89: [Bilbo's] tongue seemed to stick in his mouth; he wanted to shout out; 'Give me more time! Give me time!' But all that came out with a sudden squeal was; 'Time! Time!' Bilbo was saved by pure luck. For that of course was the answer.
- ch. VIII, p. 162: In the end he made as good a guess as he could at the direction from which the cries for help had come in the night -- and by luck (he was born with a good share of it) he guessed more or less right, as you will see.
- ch. VIII, p. 172: Knowing the truth about the vanishing did not lessen [the dwarves'] opinion of Bilbo at all; for they saw that he had some wits, as well as luck and a magic ring -- and all three are very useful possessions.
- ch. IX, p. 191: The luck turned all right before long: the eddying current carried several barrels close ashore at one point and there for a while they stuck against some hidden root.
- ch. X, p. 195: Dreary as had been his imprisonment and unpleasant as was his position (to say nothing of the poor dwarves underneath him) still, he had been more lucky than he had guessed.
- ch. XII, p. 218: 'Now is the time for our esteemed Mr Baggins, who has proved himself a good companion on our long road, and a hobbit full of courage and resource far exceeding his size, and if I may say so possessed of good luck far exceeding the usual allowance -- now is the time for him to perform the service for which he was included in our Company; now is the time for him to earn his Reward.'
- ch. XVIII, p. 293: When Gandalf saw Bilbo, he was delighted. 'Baggins!' he exclaimed. 'Well I never! Alive after all -- I am glad! I began to wonder if even your luck would see you through! [...]'
I think it's interesting they all come to appreciate Bilbo's luck, but Tolkien still lets us know Bilbo was even luckier than any of them suspected.
But I would also note that Bilbo's reference to his own luck in conversation with Smaug proves somewhat unwise (ch. XII, p. 229):
But I would also note that Bilbo's reference to his own luck in conversation with Smaug proves somewhat unwise (ch. XII, p. 229):
'I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number.'
'Lovely titles!' sneered the dragon. 'But lucky numbers don't always come off.'
[...]
'I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider,' went on Bilbo beginning to be pleased with his riddling.
Smaug "thought he understood enough" of Bilbo's riddling talk, and reveals some of that understanding, to Bilbo's increasing unease (ch. XII, p. 230):
'Let me tell you I ate six ponies last night and I shall catch and eat the eight others before long. [...] Ha! Ha! You admit the 'us'[.] Why not say 'us fourteen' and be done with it, Mr Lucky Number?'
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