I just noticed something interesting that I don't believe was discussed previously on this thread, and I want to open it up for speculation.
Quote:
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For though all lore was in these latter days fallen from its fullness of old, the leechcraft of Gondor was still wise, and skilled in the healing of wound and hurt, and all such sickness as east of the Sea mortal men were subject to. Save old age only. For that they had found no cure; and indeed the span of their lives had now waned to little more than that of other men, and those among them who passed the tale of five score years with vigour were grown few, save in some houses of purer blood.
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"All sickness.. save old age only". Does it not seem like old age is being grouped in as an imperfection of the human kind that ought to be fixed or avoided? Could this be an echo of the Numenorian obsession with death - though Gondor strives against it with its healing rather than its temples, but in a world where healing is as much magic as science the line may be blurred. At the very least it is not an obsession, like it was in the corrupted Numenor, but could it be some remnant of the same ideas unconsciously persisting in those who escaped the Fall? I used to read this as to mean that they had a cure for everything except for the inevitable old age, which is a compliment to their skill, but it also sounds a little like they attempt[ed] to cure age implying that they think it could and should be "cured".
I also don't like the word "leechcraft". For me it carries too much of an overtone of uselessness and guesswork, and an idea of a universal cure. The healers of Gondor were so much more than just leechers, and it hurts a little to hear their work called leechcraft. I didn't even notice until now, cause I usually read my translation in favour of the original for sentimental reasons, and they use other words to denote healing without the connection to leeching. This word sounds very jarring and unmerited to my unaccustomed ears, because the Healers can do a lot more and do it a lot better than this profession description conveys. Maybe I'm being too picky, and that the word is broad enough to cover all forms of healing and not just leeching, but it seemed jarring given the respect the Healers otherwise command on a professional level.