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Old 01-11-2005, 02:09 PM   #9
davem
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Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
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davem is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.davem is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
A couple of things occured to me on skimming over the chapter again just now:

Quote:
'Yes. I am white now: said Gandalf. 'Indeed I am Saruman. one might almost say. Saruman as he should have been. But come now, tell me of yourselves! I have passed through fire and deep water since we parted. I have forgotten much that I thought I knew, and learned again much that I had forgotten. I can see many things far off, but many things that are close at hand I cannot see. Tell me of yourselves!
What could Gandalf mean - 'I can see many things far off, but many things that are close at hand I cannot see.'? Clearly he's not claiming that his resurrection has made him 'longsighted'. Perhaps the 'things far off' are spiritual realities - ie the 'realities' of the spiritual realm, & the 'things close at hand' are the things of the world. He has 'forgotten much' - mundane, everyday things - even his own name (the one given to him by the peoples of Middle earth we must assume, not his 'true' name, Olorin). But it seems that he has re-learned his mission, & the spiritual truths which motivated it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lalwende
This makes me think more deeply about Gandalf. Is he somehow much more than one of the Maiar? Does this have something to do with the Secret Fire?
I wondered about this, too. It appears that he has undergone a true re-birth, & is closer to what he had been when he first set foot in Middle earth. What 'Light' he shines with is another question. Is it the Light of Valinor, or is it the light of the Secret Fire, gifted him by Illuvatar when he had passed beyond thought & time? Is he any longer merely a 'Servant of the Secret Fire' - has he now become a Master of it?

The other passage which made an impression:

Quote:
The others gazed at them in silence as they stood there facing one another. The grey figure of the Man, Aragorn son of Arathorn, was tall and stern as stone,his hand upon the hilt of his sword; he looked as if some king out of the mists of the sea had stepped upon the shores of lesser men. Before him stooped the old figure. white. shining now as if with some light kindled within, bent, laden with years, but holding a power beyond the strength of kings.
Aragorn manifests the 'power of Kings', but it is 'merely' worldly power in this context. Gandalf's power is 'beyond the strength of kings', for it is a spiritual power. Aragorn is 'put in his place here'. But Aragorn happily submits to Gandalf's superiority:

Quote:
'Do I not say truly, Gandalf,' said Aragorn at last, 'that you could go whithersoever you wished quicker than I? And this I also say: you are our captain and our banner. The Dark Lord has Nine. But we have One, mightier than they: the White Rider. He has passed through the fire and the abyss, and they shall fear him. We will go where he leads.'
Aragorn displays his humility here, before Gandalf, & before what Gandalf symbolises, & we know by this that he will be a great King.
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