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Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc
I think it's pretty clear. Two things which I agree with have been already mentioned - first, that only Ilúvatar really knew completely, and then secondly, that Men were supposed to take the role of Eldar after the Eldar faded.
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Were the Eldar always meant to fade away - those that didn't burn out?
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Obviously Men had many strange gifts, even the Eldar were amazed how much were they able to do, despite their pitifully short life, and how much effort were they able to put into things despite (or, of course: because of) their pitifully short life. That's obvious and it gives a lot of potential - of course potential to make good things as well to make a mess, but that's the fundamental choice that underlies the lives of Men.
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Aren't they Eru's 'insurance policy' against the guttering of the light? When Melkor rose up again with another theme, Eru counters with Man, and only then are we assured that the Music will never stop completely.
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*Note: It was Saruman who boasted about "Knowledge, Rule, Order" obviously in totally twisted sense, but I can well imagine that all these terms were originally part of his "mission briefing" in their positive sense: Knowledge as understanding, Rule as caretaking, Order as preservation against totally unchecked - and therefore dangerous - chaos.
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But I think that chaos was part of the plan...just not too much chaos.