5 ms·

RIP Christopher Tolkien. His labors have given the world a great gift. And, given the subject, I just have to drop what I believe to be one of the greatest lin

by scop 7y ago

RIP Christopher Tolkien. His labors have given the world a great gift. And, given the subject, I just have to drop what I believe to be one of the greatest lines of literature: Elrond: “The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.”

gordon_freeman 7y ago
Wow! these lines encourage me to read the LotR books. Thanks for sharing.
- jfk13 7y ago
  There are so many wonderful lines to be found... "It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule."
  - scop 7y ago
    The Shadow of the Past,The Fellowship of the Ring. [Frodo expresses his disgust for Gollum to Gandalf having just learned that Gollum likely informed Sauron that the ring is with Bilbo in the Shire] [Frodo] “What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that bile creature, when he had the chance!” [Gandalf] “Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity.” “I am sorry,” said Frodo. “But I am frightened; and I do not feel any pity for Gollum” “ You have not seen him,” Gandalf broke in. “No, and I don’t want to,” said Frodo. “I can’t understand you. Do you mean to say that you, and the Elves, have let him live on after all those horrible deeds? Now at any rate he is as bad as an Orc, and just an enemy. He deserves death.” “Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.“
    - jfk13 7y ago
      "I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
      - kijin 7y ago
        Gandalf is around two thousand years old at that point. What he might call "my time" has been very different from most other people's. He has seen kingdoms rise and fall, forests grow and wither, cities built and deserted many times over. Yet he has this peculiar ability to relate to and sympathize with the mere mortals around him, conferring to them bits and pieces of the wisdom he's gained over all those years. When he says "So do I," he is not faking sympathy. He really is down-to-(Middle-)Earth and knows how ordinary people feel.
      - silvester23 7y ago
        It's no secret many parts of LotR are influenced by Tolkien's experiences in WW1, but in these lines it seems especially evident.
        arethuza 7y ago
        There is a letter Tolkien wrote to a fan where he says: "My ‘Sam Gamgee’ is indeed a reflexion of the English soldier, of the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and recognized as so far superior to myself." https://johngarth.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/sam-gamgee-and-tolkiens-batmen/ https://johngarth.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/sam-gamgee-and-to...
    - arethuza 7y ago
      But Arwen went forth from the House, and the light of her eyes was quenched, and it seemed to her people that she had become cold and grey as nightfall in winter that comes without a star. Then she said farewell to Eldarion, and to her daughters, and to all whom she had loved; and she went out from the city of Minas Tirith and passed away to the land of Lórien, and dwelt there alone under the fading trees until winter came. Galadriel had passed away and Celeborn had also gone, and the land was silent. There at last when the mallorn-leaves were falling, but spring had not yet come, she laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth; and there is her green grave, until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by the men that come after, and elanor and nimphredil bloom no more east of the sea.
- ImaCake 7y ago
  LOTR is unlike anything else supposedly in the same genre. It is unique and a riveting read.
  - jl6 7y ago
    Some opine that Tolkien started the fantasy genre as we know it. Others opine that he ended it, citing everything that followed as a pale imitation.
    - JohnBooty 7y ago
      It also falls victim to that thing. That thing where something groundbreaking spawns absolutely countless numbers of (mostly pale) imitations, people experience those imitations first, and then then when they finally experience out the original they find it kind of underwhelming. It's so frustrating!
dowskitest 7y ago
These lines from The Silmarillion really hit me the other day. It relates pretty well to death and impermanence in general. "But of bliss and glad life there is little to be said, before it ends: as works fair and wonderful, while still they endure for eyes to see, are their own record, and only when they are in peril or broken forever do they pass into song."
- misterman0 7y ago
  OT, but his style is so dense in that book. Why did he write it like that? I've never been able to finish it. I find it almost impenetrable. The Hobbit I read with joy and ease even as a young child. In LOTR, sometimes after reading a paragraph I needed to pause to digest and to connect the dots. In The Silmarillion I need that pause after each clause. This sucks, because I _need_ to know what's in the book.
  - filmfact 7y ago
    Checkout this talk by Brandon Rhodes - it explains the context in which the Hobbit and LoTR were written in. I won’t spoil it, but I think it’ll answer your question. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qVlqBxpCG24 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qVlqBxpCG24 It’s also, coincidentally, the best talk I’ve ever seen on code reviews.
    - mcphage 7y ago
      I'm only just getting started on this, but it's really good so far, so thank you for sharing it!
  - aerique 7y ago
    I read through and finished The Silmarillion once, when I was younger. I remember nothing.
  - prox 7y ago
    Afaik The Silmarillion was more of a backstory, not really fit for publishing at Tolkiens death. Christopher was the one I believe who collected all the materials into its current form. Don’t forget Tolkien himself was a master linguist!
flyinghamster 7y ago
> RIP Christopher Tolkien. His labors have given the world a great gift. Well said. Also, he was a rare example of someone who inherited a trove of intellectual property and actually did something with it other than sit back and ride the gravy train. For that alone I have a great deal of respect for him. He will be missed.

by scop 7y ago

gordon_freeman 7y ago

Wow! these lines encourage me to read the LotR books. Thanks for sharing.

jfk13 7y ago
There are so many wonderful lines to be found... "It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule."
- scop 7y ago
  The Shadow of the Past,The Fellowship of the Ring. [Frodo expresses his disgust for Gollum to Gandalf having just learned that Gollum likely informed Sauron that the ring is with Bilbo in the Shire] [Frodo] “What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that bile creature, when he had the chance!” [Gandalf] “Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity.” “I am sorry,” said Frodo. “But I am frightened; and I do not feel any pity for Gollum” “ You have not seen him,” Gandalf broke in. “No, and I don’t want to,” said Frodo. “I can’t understand you. Do you mean to say that you, and the Elves, have let him live on after all those horrible deeds? Now at any rate he is as bad as an Orc, and just an enemy. He deserves death.” “Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.“
  - jfk13 7y ago
    "I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
    - kijin 7y ago
      Gandalf is around two thousand years old at that point. What he might call "my time" has been very different from most other people's. He has seen kingdoms rise and fall, forests grow and wither, cities built and deserted many times over. Yet he has this peculiar ability to relate to and sympathize with the mere mortals around him, conferring to them bits and pieces of the wisdom he's gained over all those years. When he says "So do I," he is not faking sympathy. He really is down-to-(Middle-)Earth and knows how ordinary people feel.
    - silvester23 7y ago
      It's no secret many parts of LotR are influenced by Tolkien's experiences in WW1, but in these lines it seems especially evident.
      - arethuza 7y ago
        There is a letter Tolkien wrote to a fan where he says: "My ‘Sam Gamgee’ is indeed a reflexion of the English soldier, of the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and recognized as so far superior to myself." https://johngarth.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/sam-gamgee-and-tolkiens-batmen/ https://johngarth.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/sam-gamgee-and-to...
  - arethuza 7y ago
    But Arwen went forth from the House, and the light of her eyes was quenched, and it seemed to her people that she had become cold and grey as nightfall in winter that comes without a star. Then she said farewell to Eldarion, and to her daughters, and to all whom she had loved; and she went out from the city of Minas Tirith and passed away to the land of Lórien, and dwelt there alone under the fading trees until winter came. Galadriel had passed away and Celeborn had also gone, and the land was silent. There at last when the mallorn-leaves were falling, but spring had not yet come, she laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth; and there is her green grave, until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by the men that come after, and elanor and nimphredil bloom no more east of the sea.
ImaCake 7y ago
LOTR is unlike anything else supposedly in the same genre. It is unique and a riveting read.
- jl6 7y ago
  Some opine that Tolkien started the fantasy genre as we know it. Others opine that he ended it, citing everything that followed as a pale imitation.
  - JohnBooty 7y ago
    It also falls victim to that thing. That thing where something groundbreaking spawns absolutely countless numbers of (mostly pale) imitations, people experience those imitations first, and then then when they finally experience out the original they find it kind of underwhelming. It's so frustrating!

dowskitest 7y ago

These lines from The Silmarillion really hit me the other day. It relates pretty well to death and impermanence in general. "But of bliss and glad life there is little to be said, before it ends: as works fair and wonderful, while still they endure for eyes to see, are their own record, and only when they are in peril or broken forever do they pass into song."

misterman0 7y ago
OT, but his style is so dense in that book. Why did he write it like that? I've never been able to finish it. I find it almost impenetrable. The Hobbit I read with joy and ease even as a young child. In LOTR, sometimes after reading a paragraph I needed to pause to digest and to connect the dots. In The Silmarillion I need that pause after each clause. This sucks, because I _need_ to know what's in the book.
- filmfact 7y ago
  Checkout this talk by Brandon Rhodes - it explains the context in which the Hobbit and LoTR were written in. I won’t spoil it, but I think it’ll answer your question. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qVlqBxpCG24 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qVlqBxpCG24 It’s also, coincidentally, the best talk I’ve ever seen on code reviews.
  - mcphage 7y ago
    I'm only just getting started on this, but it's really good so far, so thank you for sharing it!
- aerique 7y ago
  I read through and finished The Silmarillion once, when I was younger. I remember nothing.
- prox 7y ago
  Afaik The Silmarillion was more of a backstory, not really fit for publishing at Tolkiens death. Christopher was the one I believe who collected all the materials into its current form. Don’t forget Tolkien himself was a master linguist!

flyinghamster 7y ago

> RIP Christopher Tolkien. His labors have given the world a great gift. Well said. Also, he was a rare example of someone who inherited a trove of intellectual property and actually did something with it other than sit back and ride the gravy train. For that alone I have a great deal of respect for him. He will be missed.