What we're referring to here is ultimate and relative truth. They are co-emergent, so one does not negate the other. One person is tall only in relation to another who is shorter. That tall person will be short standing next to a basketball team. Even white is not an ultimate truth to any human, because white is also relative: to someone from China it represents death, to a European, purity. In an ultimate, non-referential, non-egoistic sense, short and tall are nonsense; the gradations of meaning of "white" are nonsense: without referencing self and other, this and that, they have no meaning. But the ultimate truth does not negate relative truth, because that would be taking ultimate as a reference point - making it relative to something. And no longer ultimate.
To relate this to the topic at hand, to really be speaking from the point of an ultimate truth, the relative interpretation has to be given due consideration. With awareness of its proper context.
As someone once said: Trust in God, but tie up your camel.
Tolkien said: "To please readers was my main object." And that covers his ultimate purpose, and incorporates relative latitude.
To say there was one ultimate preeminent meaning goes against both.
Oh, that was fun! Welcome aboard, River Jordan! I really appreciate your philosophical bent.
[ January 26, 2002: Message edited by: Marileangorifurnimaluim ]
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