Part of the mind of Ilúvatar

[Formendacil]

So, I was rereading the Ainulindalë today, for the first time in a couple years (which is a bit of a shame, but not as bad as you'd think; I read it (and its HoME variants) so many times in my teen years that it's not exactly a forgotten text), and I barely got through three pages before I had a topic for the Downs.

While this is not a bad thing, I was supposed to be spending today outdoors...

Anyway, the following lines struck me:

Originally Posted by Tolkien, in the Ainulindalë,

But for a long while they sang only each alone, or but few together while the rest hearkened; for each comprehended only that part of the mind of Iluvatar from which he came, and in the understanding of their brethren they grew but slowly.

More especially, this was recalled moments later (over my second bite of breakfast) with this:

Originally Posted by Tolkien, in the Ainulindalë,

To Melkor among the Ainur had been given the greatest gifts of power and knowledge, and he had a share in all the gifts of his brethren.

This made me think... Melkor is alone, as far as I know, in being said to have a share in the gifts of all his brethern--a share, I would say, in part, with all the parts of the mind of Ilúvatar, This accords very well with what is generally said of him being the greatest of the Ainur, for example, in the following quote:

Originally Posted by Tolkien, in the Ainulindalë,

'Mighty are the Ainur, and mightiest among them is Melkor..

I trust that no one will say Eru is a liar.

Anyway, this got me thinking about Manwë, because there's always been a bit of tension in comparing him and Melkor. If Melkor is the mightiest in the thought of Eru, how can Manwë be called coëval with him?

More importantly... how can Manwë be considered "brethren in the thought of Ilúvatar" with Melkor? What is it about them that would cause Eru to say "you're brothers" in a way that they aren't with the rest of the Ainur? With Námo and Irmo (Mandos and Lórien) it makes sense, given their related fields of knowledge (related parts of Ilúvatar's mind from whence they spring): doom and visions. After all, if Melkor and Manwë are not like in power--and especially in Tolkien's later works, which the final version of the Ainulindalë is contemporary with, it is clear that Melkor is vastly the mightier, as Ilúvatar's statement affirms--how are they alike? It's not that they both spring from the same portion of Ilúvatar's thought, since Manwë is very clearly associated with the sky and winds, whereas Melkor is very clearly drawn from across the "elemental" spectrum, so to speak.

Any thoughts then, on how to reconcile this? I have one, also prompted by pages 1-3 of the Ainulindalë, but I'm curious what reconciliation others have attempted to make--if they have at all.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

If Melkor is the mightiest in the thought of Eru, how can Manwë be called coëval with him?

Because coëval means that he is a contemporary of Melkor's, that he had his origins at or near the same time as Melkor. Melkor was "born" first, Manwë probably came second. I think that many people interpret coëval as meaning "equal," but that is not so, and I haven't found a definition in any of my available dictionaries that suggests equality of power, rank, or such in the term, merely a similarity of age or origin.

As for their being brothers, I have always viewed them as being opposite sides of the same coin -- light, dark; good, bad; heavens, earth; etc. They are different in temperament, and in that difference lies the link between them, in my mind. The two sides of a single coin can be utterly unalike, and yet be part of the same coin. Despite their differences, there is a bond between them, and in Eru's mind, this makes them brothers. I'm from a largish family, and most of my siblings and I are quite unalike, but that does not change the fact that we are siblings.

That's how I've seen it, anyway.

[obloquy]

Melkor was originally greater than all the other Valar combined and stood in defiance of all of them. He is therefore not Manwe's personal opposite but the opposite of all the Valar--the antithesis of positive (creative) energy itself. He was the nihilistic Enemy of all and everything, and he could have destroyed the world had he not tried so hard to make it all his own. How are Melkor and Manwe brothers? Manwe was most like Iluvatar in mind; Melkor most like him in body. They are symbolically brothers (all were equally fraternal literally) by virtue of their greater inheritance.

[Warm]

I have always been curious about Manwe's ability. Other than understanding the thought of Eru the best and being the voice of Eru's will, what do we see Manwe actually do? I can not really remember ever there being a contest between the two, or better yet, I can't really remember even an example of Manwe's ability or limitations. If they are equal opposites as in humble versus pride, perhaps there is a scale of will/power versus understanding or something similar.

[Formendacil]

It's odd reading an old post by me--especially one starting a thread I didn't remember that I'd started. While the thrust of my post seems to have been to clarify how Manwë and Melkor could be coëval, I don't think I was looking for a definition as I could have looked it up (mind you, I don't think I DID look it up...). For what it's worth, looking back from four years later, I don't think that Ibrîn's helpful clarification about the definition of coëval really clears it up; rather, I think it basically restates the problem, which I might define thus:

Melkor and Manwë are brethren in the mind of Ilúvatar--which fits with their being contemporaries. HOW does being brothers work?

Attached to this--indeed, I think, essential to it--is the question of how Manwë can be a fittingly matched opponent to Melkor, when Melkor alone is singled out as THE greatest of the Ainur. To me, this echoes how Lucifer can have been the greatest of the angels before his fall while Michael is the greatest of the angels... after the fall?*

The answer that occurs to me in the course of writing this--though maybe I should say it's the result of four years of deep meditation--is that Manwë is the equal of Melkor because he has the authority as vice-gerent of Eru. It's NOT that Manwë is the equal of Melkor in power, but that brute power is most properly opposed by authority--which power does not possess.




*Blame it on my current academic endeavour of reading John Milton, but now I'm wanting to play the game of "which archangel is which Vala?" Oromë and Ulmo seem good candidates for Raphael and Gabriel, though I'm open to alternative suggestions.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

I have always imagined the "bretheren" really in the sense that they shared similar gifts. And yes, even power. Maybe Melkor was the mightiest of Ainur, but Manwë was right behind him; more importantly, I think when it comes to powers of, say, "govern", counsel, maybe the power of their imagination, mind, all that kind of stuff?

Yes, truth be told, Manwë did not really show us very much, but then again, we are never told about the "daily business of governing Valinor", or the early days of Arda and what's been created from whose initiative etc... I can imagine Manwë being the "nudger" to help others put their plans into shape, or help them and guide them to make their ideas work.

Thinking about e.g. the discussion between Manwë and Yavanna concerning the Ents (and Eagles). From what we know, Manwë certainly enjoys the respect of others and others come to him for counsel - they obviously must act that way based on their experience with him that he is the one who gives them good counsel.

That's nothing against what Form just said about the power and authority (which, if I understood correctly what he has in mind, is a very important notion). But I think the simple dimension of truly having the power and capability - "creative potential" - equal or similar to Melkor's (in its broadness) might be there. We have to put aside the simple clasification of Manwë only as the "lord of winds", which is, I believe, a common mistake and simplification (he simply turned to prefer a certain "portfolio" on top of everything, but nowhere it is told that his capabilities would be limited only to this area - that is in fact most strongly disputed exactly by putting him on the same level with Melkor).