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Old 12-14-2018, 01:48 PM   #7
Findegil
King's Writer
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,694
Findegil is a guest of Tom Bombadil.
Okay here is the next passage from the Istari essay worth considering:
Quote:
The End of the Third Age
>ETA-SL-01<ORP Now all these things were achieved for the most part by the counsel and vigilance of Mithrandir, and in the last few days he was revealed as a lord of great reverence, and clad in white he rode into battle; but not until the time came for him to depart was it known that he had long guarded the Red Ring of Fire. At the first that Ring had been entrusted to Círdan, Lord of the Havens; but he had surrendered it to Mithrandir, for he knew whence he came and whither at last he would return ETA-SL-02<Appendix B{For}, for Círdan saw further and deeper than any other in Middle-earth>.
‘Take now this Ring,’ he said; 'for thy labors and thy cares will be heavy, but in all it will support thee and defend thee from weariness. For this is the Ring of Fire, and herewith, maybe, thou shalt rekindle hearts to the valor of old in a world that grows chill. ETA-SL-03<The Istari It was entrusted to me only to keep secret, and here upon the West-shores it is idle; but I deem that in days ere long to come it should be in nobler hands than mine.> But as for me, my heart is with the Sea, and I will dwell by the grey shores, guarding the Havens until the last ship sails. Then I shall await thee.’ ETA-SL-03.2<UT Istari And the Grey Messenger took the Ring, and kept it ever secret; yet the White Messenger (who was skilled to uncover all secrets) after a time became aware of this gift, and begrudged it, and it was the beginning of the hidden ill-will that he bore to the Grey, which afterwards became manifest.>
White was that ship and long was it a-building, and long it awaited the end of which Círdan had spoken. But when all these things were done, and the Heir of Isildur had taken up the lordship of Men, and the dominion of the West had passed to him, then it was made plain that the power of the Three Rings also was ended, and to the Firstborn the world grew old and grey. In that time the last of the Noldor set sail from the Havens and left Middle-earth forever. And latest of all the Keepers of the Three Rings rode to the Sea.>
ETA-SL-03.4<UT Istari Indeed, of all the Istari, one only remained faithful, and he was the last-comer. For Radagast, the fourth, became enamoured of the many beasts and birds that dwelt in Middle-earth, and forsook Elves and Men, and spent his days among the wild creatures. Thus he got his name (which is in the tongue of Númenor of old, and signifies, it is said, "tender of beasts").{(4)} And Curunír 'Lân, Saruman the White, fell from his high errand, and becoming proud and impatient and enamoured of power sought to have his own will by force, and to oust Sauron; but he was ensnared by that dark spirit, mightier than he.> ETA-SL-03.6<Letter 211 {I really do not know anything clearly}Nothing is clearly known about the other two – since they do not concern the history of the {N.W. I think they}North-West. They went as emissaries to distant regions, East and South, far out of Númenórean range: missionaries to 'enemy-occupied' lands, as it were. What success they had {I do not know; but I fear}is not known; but it is feared that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and {I suspect}it is suspected they were founders or beginners of secret cults and 'magic' traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.>
ETA-SL-03.8<UT Istari Elsewhere is told how it was that when Sauron rose again, {he}Gandalf also arose and partly revealed his power, and becoming the chief mover of the resistance to Sauron was at last victorious, and brought all by vigilance and labour to that end which the Valar under the One that is above them had designed. Yet it is said that in the ending of the task for which he came he suffered greatly, and was slain, and being sent back from death for a brief while was clothed then in white, and became a radiant flame (yet veiled still save in great need). And when all was over and the Shadow of Sauron was removed, he departed for ever over the Sea. Whereas Curunír was cast down, and utterly humbled, and perished at last by the hand of an oppressed slave; and his spirit went whithersoever it was doomed to go, and to Middle-earth, whether naked or embodied, came never back.>
ETA-SL-04<Letter to Milton Waldman Frodo {cannot}could not be healed. For the preservation of the Shire he {has}had sacrificed himself, even in health, and {has}had no heart to enjoy it. Sam {has}had to choose between love of master and of wife. In the end he {goes}went with Frodo on a last journey. At night in the woods, where Sam first met Elves on the outward journey, they {meet the}met a twilit cavalcade from Rivendell. The Elves and the Three Rings, and Gandalf (Guardian of the Third Age) {are}were going to the Grey Havens, to set sail for the West, never to return. Bilbo {is}was with them. To Bilbo and Frodo the special grace {is}was granted to go with the Elves they loved ETA-SL-05{- an Arthurian ending, in which it is, of course, not made explicit whether this is an 'allegory' of death, or a mode of healing and restoration leading to a return}. They {ride}rode to the Grey Havens, and {take}took the Ship ETA-SL-06<ORP that Círdan had made ready>: Gandalf with the Red Ring, Elrond (with the Blue) and the greater part of his household, and Galadriel of Lórien with the White Ring, and with them {depart}departed Bilbo and Frodo.>
Respectfully
Findegil
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