Mirkgirl
March 26th,2003, 06:57 PM
Well I picked up the Silm again... and noticed something. It is said that Illuvatar gathers all the Ainur:
And it came to pass that Iluvatar called together all the Ainur and declared to them a mighty theme,
First its said that Melkor is the greatest of them all:
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.
But later it is said that Melkor is the greatest of the ones who took part in the Music.
And of these Melkor was the chief, even as he was in the beginning the greatest of the Ainur who took part in the Music.
Is it a mistake? Or Tolkien implies that just the Valar and Maiar (and Melkor), the ones who recognized the world as their creation and went to take care of it really took part in the Music, while the others didn't. As each of the Ainur knew and understood only their part of Illuvatar's mind, is it possible that not all the ideas of Illuvatar really took shape within the Music? Maybe just the parts which were in the Valar and the Maiar (and Melkor) took shape within that Music and the rest just... have to wait till the end of the world when each thought, each sound will take shape?
Or maybe it means something else... I haven't really given it a thought before... I'll come back if I think of other explanation... I'd love to hear your ideas :)
And it came to pass that Iluvatar called together all the Ainur and declared to them a mighty theme,
First its said that Melkor is the greatest of them all:
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.
But later it is said that Melkor is the greatest of the ones who took part in the Music.
And of these Melkor was the chief, even as he was in the beginning the greatest of the Ainur who took part in the Music.
Is it a mistake? Or Tolkien implies that just the Valar and Maiar (and Melkor), the ones who recognized the world as their creation and went to take care of it really took part in the Music, while the others didn't. As each of the Ainur knew and understood only their part of Illuvatar's mind, is it possible that not all the ideas of Illuvatar really took shape within the Music? Maybe just the parts which were in the Valar and the Maiar (and Melkor) took shape within that Music and the rest just... have to wait till the end of the world when each thought, each sound will take shape?
Or maybe it means something else... I haven't really given it a thought before... I'll come back if I think of other explanation... I'd love to hear your ideas :)