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Originally Posted by Mansun
The original question to the thread was a rhetorical one - the answer was always going to be a no. But out of it has come a greater appreciation of the LOTR & the Bible, & acknowledgement of the fact that there is great similarity between the two texts, suggesting that Tolkein gained many of his fundamental themes/ideas through inspiration from the Bible. Gandalf isn't Christ, but he is Christ-like. Saruman isn't Judas, but he is just as bad a traitor. The far green country isn't heaven, but it is the undying lands where the High Elves dwell in peace.
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Um, well I'm just one of a few yet to be convinced by anything. The most interesting notion was that of having a 'holy city' of some description in Middle-earth, and even with that there's absolutely no evidence in the text that Tolkien intended it, it's just an interesting literary motif to be pursued.
And on that note....
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Originally Posted by LMP
Exhibit #1: Pity stayed Bilbo
In the Prologue to The Fellowship of the Ring, section four, paragraph seven, we read,
"...Bilbo was tempted to slay [Gollum] with his sword. But pity stayed him...."
First, this is precisely the same way it is presented in the revised "The Hobbit, Riddles in the Dark". Note the passive tense. It does not say 'Bilbo took pity on him', but 'pity stayed him'. Pity is thus something acting upon Bilbo rather than he doing the pitying. What is this pity? Does it have a source? If not, we are left with an unanswerable conundrum, or else not the best writing (passive tense instead of active). If this pity does have a source, what is it? Or are we dealing with a 'who'?
The question is too early to answer yet; we don't have enough information, and must read further to see if any answers are forthcoming.
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Interesting point. I know that Pity is one of the Christian virtues, and in fact is pretty central to any genuine Christian (now aint the place to pursue what a non-genuine Christian is in this respect
) but I would also have to point out that its in no way exclusive. Pity is one of the attributes setting us out as distinctly human (and is naturally linked to another basic emotion - disgust). Pity is something also displayed to a great degree by non-Christians, e.g. Oxfam is a secular charity doing work to help people less fortunate. Amnesty International also works to lobby for more 'pity' even for people who have broken the law and done 'wrong'.
Saying 'Pity stayed him' actually to me seems more like the basic human instinct of pity coming to the fore, whereas 'took pity on him' suggests the conscious mind taking over, e.g. deciding to exercise the pity you are required to show as part of your religion.