the scope of sacrifice

[Birdland]

So Tolkien doesn't point to an ultimate end of evil, but rather to it's constant defeat - by sacrifice, yes - in endless smaller battles.

Maril-etc.-etc. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] - one of my favorite fantasy novels, Prince Ombra, deals with this theme. Evil returns again and again to earth, each time in a different form, and a Hero appears who will take up the challenge.

Every hero in every culture is the same Hero, and every manifestation of Evil comes from the one, same source. Some heroes are not even remembered because, of course, Evil sometimes wins.

I always like to think of Frodo as being included in that long line of heroes, who all bore "The Borrowed Heart".