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Old 06-08-2008, 07:13 AM   #6
skip spence
shadow of a doubt
 
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Back on the streets
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skip spence is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.skip spence is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
Credit should go to Tolkien for not depicting these guys in an entirely bad light. All of them have their redeeming moments within the tales, and none of them were "evil".

I don't belive evil was a word Tolkien used much (or at at all) in his books, and not by accident. Evil is an absolute concept. In order to be evil, one must clearly recognise Good and reject it. The problem is that not even the Valar can do this with absolute certainty, and Feanor much less so. Most of us do our best to be good, but it isn't easy, and some do more than others. Feanor and his sons certainly made some poor decisions, but I belive they all did what they though they had to do. Some, like Maglor and Maedros, were better than others, but none of them were all bad, far from it.

Instead of evil, which is an unsuitable word, we should speak about pride and greed. These are ever the deadliest sins in Arda, and the downfall of the Feanorians together with many others.
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