Silmarillion - Ainulindale - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Hilde Bracegirdle · 10-06-2006, 06:39 PM

Don't worry, no stones.

The way I take this passage is that Eru created the phenomenon of Music, so if Melkor chose to introduce a loud strain of dissonance, Eru could still make some pleasant music result. He understood how to do this since this music and its instruments are of his thought, and have their source in him. I do not think that this implies that Eru is evil. It is interesting that later on the degree of evil in Sauron seems to be tied to how self-serving he is. Melkor is clearly shown to be such a one.

Perhaps these higher beings are in a perfect balance, so that they should be seen as neither good nor bad entities, but Melkor has become somehow unbalanced, falling toward the evil end of the spectrum. Maybe this is why his brother Manwë is toward the side of good, in order to recover the balance. I mention this only because it has troubled me that these two were brothers in the thought of Iluvatar, and it is one way I could reconcile the thought of it.

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10-06-2006, 06:39 PM	#25
Hilde Bracegirdle Relic of Wandering Days Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: You'll See Perpetual Change. Posts: 1,480	Don't worry, no stones. The way I take this passage is that Eru created the phenomenon of Music, so if Melkor chose to introduce a loud strain of dissonance, Eru could still make some pleasant music result. He understood how to do this since this music and its instruments are of his thought, and have their source in him. I do not think that this implies that Eru is evil. It is interesting that later on the degree of evil in Sauron seems to be tied to how self-serving he is. Melkor is clearly shown to be such a one. Perhaps these higher beings are in a perfect balance, so that they should be seen as neither good nor bad entities, but Melkor has become somehow unbalanced, falling toward the evil end of the spectrum. Maybe this is why his brother Manwë is toward the side of good, in order to recover the balance. I mention this only because it has troubled me that these two were brothers in the thought of Iluvatar, and it is one way I could reconcile the thought of it.