Just a minor point, concerning hobbits and civilization:
It seems that hobbits are indeed uncivilized - meaning they do not live in big cities, rather townships, and the main population is rustic. As civilization is based on stem
civis, they must be uncivilized. That does not mean they are
uncultured, ultimately based on the same root as 'cultivate', meaning they have worked out how to till
, and hobbits are farmers.
Minor point over.
Not to stray overly off topic - the given chapter provides interesing fact: the safety of the Shire, the thing considered as built-in, given, 'as it must be' by the inhabitants themselves (and by yours truly after reading the Hobbit but before LoTR and this chapter in particular) is revealed to be no more than 'watchful peace', kept by same much rebuked and scorned at rangers as Aragorn/Strider is:
Quote:
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I have often kept watch on the borders of the Shire in the last few years, when he was busy elsewhere. He seldom left it unguarded
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Implication is that in recent years Aragorn kept the watch, but there were others, and before recent years too, as we know that Gandalf grew fond of the Shire almost at its foundation time
cheers