Quote:
Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc
it can lead them to actually care more of their actions, and of their effect in the future.
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So you mean sort of to leave their mark upon the world before they leave? That is a good point.What I meant is that they are more likely to make rash decisions, so even if they are doing things for the right reasons, they sometimes get things wrong. And more importantly, they are more irresponsible because they know they only have a short time to do things, so they make the most of it. If they get it right, then they have performed a deed of great valour, but if they get wrong they don't live to see its effects. Now, even if they try to, it is harder for Men to see the long-term effects of their actions than Elves because they have not lived as long and have not had the experience. The Elves would be much slower and more careful, because they literally had eternity, while the Men cared about the present, because that is when they lived.
Also, great people are measured in this case by single great deeds. For example, take Cirdan. He has probably killed more orcs and given more good counsel and helped more people than any human (and possibly even elf as well), but he is not remembered as one of the great because he does it slowly over a period of time.
It is for this reason also that the elven kingdoms change much less rapidly than human kingdoms. Land for Men in Middle-Earth is lost and gained much faster than for elves, because elves are more reserved in the Third Age. In the First Age, all of Middle-Earth was new to them, and they were much more rash, but by the Third Age, they were settled, whereas Men, with their population so rapidly changing, are always on the move in comparison, and mostly either advance or gain land in leaps, or lose a lot in a short period of time. In our real history this is true as well- many great empires have expanded very quickly.