Hello
Huinesoron
Quote:
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The key is that the relevant people didn't know they had the thing.
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Don’t you think Tolkien is a ‘relevant’ person?
Wouldn’t he be the most ‘relevant’ of all ‘people’?
In fact wouldn’t he be more in the ‘know’ about the fate of the silmarils for his mythology than anyone?
I do understand and acknowledge your examples on ‘lost’. One could also argue that “end of the world” meant end of the ‘old’ world - changed after the fall of Númenor. However I think, when it comes to this particular letter (#283a) these are not natural or straightforward interpretations.
Tolkien offered up some unasked for extra information in his short correspondence. In my opinion it’s quite a stretch to assume there was anything devious, overly clever or a technicality involved with his use of the word “lost”. In this instance, given the nature and context of the correspondence, a found but not recognized situation doesn’t reconcile as ‘lost’ - at least for me!!