The erudition of you guys is staggering! No joke. I am definitely rereading The Simlarillion in its entirety. Way to go, guys. It's been too long. On to the quotes:
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where certain points in UT conflict with LotR, we have to disregard them.
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Granted.
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I thank you, littlemanpoet...
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You're welcome, obloquy.
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Morgoth [did not] put any of his power into Balrogs.
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I'll take your word for it.
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...everything has something of Morgoth's spirit in it...
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Kuruharan: From my reading of all the Glaurung texts in The Silmarillion and many in the UT, it is clear that the Morgoth spirit in Glaurung was more powerful than in most servants of Morgoth. Also, it is clear (at least to me) from the readings that if it were not for the Morgoth spirit in Glaurung, he would be no more and no less than a giant serpent with the intelligence and instincts of a serpent. The Morgoth spirit it him appears to be what gave him his sentience.
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Glaurung had a rather independent streak.
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Please provide examples of this, Kuruharan.
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Balrogs are totally independent of Morgoth.
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Please provide some evidence for this, Thingol.
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the assumption that things that have recieved the power of Melkor partially lose the ability to make their own descissions is flawed
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I think the texts bear this out, as you show, Thingol. On Balrogs, I was hesitant, but reading "Of the Enemies" in The Silmarillion leads me to accept your thought that
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The Balrogs were Melkor's elite force and I think Tolkien would have said so if Melkor enhanced them with his power.
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To say that the Balrogs were totally independent of Morgoth, and that they were his elite force, is to say two different things.
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I don't know of any evidence to support this (that Ungoliante was a Maia).
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In The Silmarillion, "Of the Darkening of Valinor", it says, "...but some have said...when Melkor first looked down in envy upon the Kingdom of Manwe, and that in the beginning [Ungoliant] was one of those that he corrupted to his service. But she had disowned her Master..." This supports that she was a Maia, and that she did have a will of her own.
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There is the possibility that [dragons] were a Balrog/reptile hybrid, as hideous as the idea is.
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[img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] What more can I say? [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
[ March 05, 2002: Message edited by: littlemanpoet ]