Chicken and egg, Ent and tree...

[Leaf]

Originally Posted by Sardy

[...]A related question: if Ents were indeed around before elves, as well as other less defined but presumably sentient creatures deep in the earth ("Far, far below the deepest delvings of the dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he.") What are the implications of such creatures and Ents existing before the advent of the elves, in terms of Eru's strict (as demonstrated by the Dwarves) plan for the Elves as the "First-born" on Middle-earth?

Well I suppose that Ents (and entities akin, such as the eagles) were just an extention of the natural world which already consisted of olvar and kelvar (or flora and fauna) and inanimate matter. The key difference between this natural world and the children of Ilúvatar is the concept of a (God-given) free will and an associated afterlife/fate.