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Zigûr · 03-19-2013, 08:36 PM

Well this has certainly be enlightening! I should of course have paid attention to Amandil's use of "from" (rather than, say, "for"). I personally do not believe that Amandil reached the Blessed Realm either. For my own part I'm inclined to believe that Eru himself might have been responsible for the survival of the Faithful. He's not vindictive, after all. I think the story of the Faithful overall reinforces that notion that we always have a choice, even in the face of death or disaster. The Faithful made one and the King's Men made the other. The choice is there; we simply have to accept the consequences.

That is another idea which I think makes Amandil's voyage so poignant; he could have escaped with his sons and grandsons but he chose a different road. That of course meant breaking the Ban himself: it's interesting that in the case of one's loyalty to God being the only insoluble one, in this case sailing into the West meant both betraying the King of Númenor and breaking the law set down by the Elder King whose overlordship was ultimately applicable to all the inhabitants of Arda.

03-19-2013, 08:36 PM	#7
Zigûr Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 785	Well this has certainly be enlightening! I should of course have paid attention to Amandil's use of "from" (rather than, say, "for"). I personally do not believe that Amandil reached the Blessed Realm either. For my own part I'm inclined to believe that Eru himself might have been responsible for the survival of the Faithful. He's not vindictive, after all. I think the story of the Faithful overall reinforces that notion that we always have a choice, even in the face of death or disaster. The Faithful made one and the King's Men made the other. The choice is there; we simply have to accept the consequences. That is another idea which I think makes Amandil's voyage so poignant; he could have escaped with his sons and grandsons but he chose a different road. That of course meant breaking the Ban himself: it's interesting that in the case of one's loyalty to God being the only insoluble one, in this case sailing into the West meant both betraying the King of Númenor and breaking the law set down by the Elder King whose overlordship was ultimately applicable to all the inhabitants of Arda. __________________ "Since the evening of that day we have journeyed from the shadow of Tol Brandir." "On foot?" cried Éomer.