Quote:
Originally Posted by davem
The survival of Gondolin was essential to the survival of Middle-earth
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But it did not survive. It fell in spectacular style. Hiding as a form of defence will only last so long, it is inevitable that it will fail. And if you do manage to hide until you die then those who drove you into hiding have won anyway. Then Gondolin's fall was all the
more violent when Morgoth discovered it; like a cat waiting for a mouse to come out of the hole, he was ready to destroy it at the first opportunity.
Natural curiosity drove Aredhel to seek the outside world. It wasn't right or wrong for her to do this, it just happened. Someone would have done this sooner or later, which is why Turgon's attempt to hide Gondolin was doomed. The only way that he could have prevented someone leaving would be to physically prevent this, which would make him as brutal as those he hoped to hide his people from.