Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Arda Unmarred

'For Arda Unmarred hath two aspects or senses. The first is the Unmarred that they discern in the Marred, if their eyes are not dimmed, and yearn for, as we yearn for the Will of Eru: this is the ground upon which Hope is built. The second is the Unmarred that shall be: that is, to speak according to Time in which they have their being, the Arda Healed, which shall be greater and more fair than the first, because of the Marring: this is the Hope that sustaineth. It cometh not only from the yearning for the Will of Ilúvatar the Begetter (which by itself may lead those within Time to no more than regret), but also from trust in Eru the Lord everlasting, that he is good, and that his works shall all end in good. This the Marrer hath denied, and in this denial is the root of evil, and its end is in despair....'

Manwë in "Laws and Customs Among the Eldar (A)" in J.R.R. Tolkien, Morgoth's Ring, Christopher Tolkien, ed., HarperCollins (London: 2015) p. 245. This is from one of the drafts of the Quenta Silmarillion, the material of which was being reworked after the publication of The Lord of the Rings.