Good thoughts on gold, it was the basing for money. For our paper to be worth something we need gold to back it. So, I guess the saying should be "Gold is the root of all evil," because without it, the paper money would be worthless.
Also, there's the stories of the conquistadores and other ancient stories of people who are so driven by gold they spend their life and dedication ever searching for it in hopes of finding it. And in many cases killed over gold. So, I think gold has a historical background to it to explain why Tolkien makes the connection.
I'm still not sold on silver. I don't know what is it about silver that makes it purer than gold, and so...ungold?
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Fenris Penguin
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