[Bêthberry]

I'm going to pop in here with a different tangent. I realise this is just the sort of discussion that Downers relish, so I hope this isn't exactly some throwing some water on the debate, more like a new pot, perhaps.

But, it is really quite in keeping with the values suggested in LotR to make even general or broad comparisons between the Middle-earth races? I know we endlessly generalise about elvish ennui and hobbitish resilience and dwarvish stamina, but is it really kosher to compare races? It's not something we accept readily nowadays in the primary world--racial comparison--and to me it has the sense of being quite far from anything Tolkien himself would have considered. Individual members certainly are up for comparison, but entire races?

Given the values suggested in LotR, is it really valuable or feasible to make comparative generalisations about the races? I suppose, too, one could ask if race is precisely the best word here to characterise the elves, hobbits, men, dwarves. Are they not separate species (which in several special circumstances can apparently interbreed?)