The sinking of Numenor - a lesson to whom?

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Macalaure

Actually, this is also something which belongs in with your "Facts about Númenor": It's very often overlooked that it was the Valar who saved the Faithfuls, and not Eru. The Faithfuls escaped because of Amandil's foresight and the sudden "great winds roaring from the west", which I suppose came from Manwe (and also because of Sauron's soldiers which forced Elendil to man the ships instead of just waiting in the harbour).

I think you mean that it was the Faithful that saved the Faithful. If the Valar were involved, there'd be some floating island involved . Manwe's eastward wind was to slow the progress of Ar-Pharazon (or at least to give his rowers something to do). This same wind pushed the Faithful to safety; sure, but if they were still on Numenor, no wind would have pushed them across so far a sea.

But do they get the pleasure of saying, "Yeah, whatever."?

"My ways are not your ways, and I like drowning things."

[Macalaure]

Originally Posted by alatar

I think you mean that it was the Faithful that saved the Faithful. If the Valar were involved, there'd be some floating island involved . Manwe's eastward wind was to slow the progress of Ar-Pharazon (or at least to give his rowers something to do). This same wind pushed the Faithful to safety; sure, but if they were still on Numenor, no wind would have pushed them across so far a sea.

Umm, but...

Thus the fleets of the Númenóreans moved against the menace of the West; and there was little wind,...
...
For a wind arose in the east and it wafted them away;

...the wind was still or even came out of the east. I agree, of course, that the decision to be on the ships instead of on Númenor saved them. Without the special wind, however, that would very likely not have been enough.

Originally Posted by alatar

"My ways are not your ways, and I like drowning things."

Exactly.

Well, my nice little theory stands and falls with what Eru was thinking, which is the case with every theory about the destruction of Númenor. Sadly, that's guesswork entirely.