Quote:
Originally Posted by Morthoron
*Sighs* The thread that refuses to die. I will give you some finality, anything further is simply arguing for arguing's sake. Direct quote:
"And thus it came to pass that the Silmarils found their long homes: one in the airs of heaven, and one in the fires of the heart of the world, and one in the deep waters."
1.The Silmaril tossed by Maglor into a fiery pit was in Beleriand, which no longer exists on a map. That whole wrath of Eru thing. It's not going to traverse thousands of miles away, under at least 2 mountain ranges and end up in Erebor.
And two other quotes:
"The great jewel shone before his [Bilbo's] feet of its own inner light, and yet, cut and fashioned by the dwarves..."
"Like the crystal of diamonds it [a Silmaril] appeared, and yet was more strong than adamant, so that no violence could mar it or break it within the Kingdom of Arda."
2. If a Silmaril can't be marred, how can it be cut and fashioned? How was Thrain, who certainly was not worthy of holding it in his hand, able to not only carry it about, but bequeath it to later unworthy dwarves so they could handle it?
And finally,
3. How could Olórin, a Maia of Valinor and accounted wisest of the Istari, not immediately recognize a Silmaril when he handled it? You think he forgot what it looked liked from back in the day in Valinor? The greatest of all the works of the Elves (and of the Istari, he was closest to the Elves)? He certainly knew the One Ring, and was a Ring-wielder himself. You don't forget a Silmaril once you see it. Plus, leaving it in Erebor would have its own inherent danger of being taken by Sauron, who did indeed attack Erebor during the War of the Ring.
4. According to the Final Prophecy of Mandos, after Melkor's defeat in the Dagor Dagorath, the Silmarils will be recovered by the Valar. Then Fëanor will be released from the Halls of Mandos and give Yavanna the Silmarils and she will break them and with their light she will revive the Two Trees. A Silmaril is, as has been said countless times, a "holy jewel" bound to the revival of the Two Trees at the end of all things.
5. Do you think when the Valar and Maiar are searching in vain for the third Silmaril, Gandalf will say, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, it's buried in a crypt with a dead dwarf in Erebor several thousand mile east of here. I gave it back to him a while back. Ummm....why are all you guys glaring at me like that?"
To consider a Silmaril to be the Arkenstone not only strains credulity, it shatters it into tiny shards, fit to be broomed up and dumped in a waste bin.
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1. Speculation on both sides
2. The Hobbit is written by Bilbo out of his understanding. As has been said chipping it out of volcanic rock will be sufficient explanation of this as misunderstood by Bilbo.
3. Since when has Gandalf been open about anything? His quest and mission was as a guide and his current task was keeping as many people alive as possible. Arguably getting The Lonely Mountain up and running would’ve been, to him, the best way to keep the thing safe. Also I’d say a quick text search of the Silmarillion only mentions Olorin a couple times, did he ever actually see or interact with them? He’s not omniscient.
4.
“In those days the Silmarils shall be recovered from sea and earth and air,” it’s still in the Earth buried with Thorin. This doesn’t contradict the prophecy in any shape or form.
5. If they aren’t “searching in vain” then what does “lost” mean. If they supposedly know exactly where they are they’re not lost, just in storage. This interpretation completely contradicts getting rid of the things in the first place.
There’s plenty of reasons to doubt it’s a Silmaril. Plenty of reasons to believe it is. It only stretches Credulity if you’ve already set yourself dead against it.