[Wisdom of Wizardry]

I didn't mean to imply that Gandalf 'knew' he could defeat the Balrog, any more than Eowyn 'knew' her sword would kill the Nazgul King. Had they known, their acts become more mechanical than heroic. I have no wish to rob this timeless masterpiece of its heroism.

What I AM implying is that Gandalf knew that if anybody in that group could defeat the balrog, he was it! He was not resigned to die, right? He fell into the pit with a determination to fight to the death; and he was pretty sure that he could give the balrog a run for his money, so to speak.

But would it help him if Aragorn or Legolas, the two most powerful of his allies, fell into the pit beside him? Uh uh. That would just give him something else to worry about, and would remove two vastly important layers of protection from the Ring Bearer.

So I think he was saying, essentially: "What the %$#& are you standing there gawping for? Get out of here and leave this nightmare to the only one capable of handling it"! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 1:36 PM December 18, 2003: Message edited by: Wisdom of Wizardry ]