“Not all those who wander are lost.”

[davem]

Of course the first character we meet in the whole Legendarium is a wanderer - Eriol/Aelfwine the mariner - which is another thing that strikes me - how many of Tolkien's wanderers have links to the Sea - Tuor, Earendel, the father-son pairs in Lost Road & Notion Club Papers, Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf, Sam, Legolas & Gimli - even the more 'static' characters like Elrond & Galadriel - all finally seek the Sea. Even in SoWM Smith finds the Sea of Windless Storm.The Kingdoms of Gondor & Arnor are founded by Men who come from over the Sea.

The Road goes ever on, & it seems that that Road leads to the Sea - & ultimately over it to what lies beyond. I wonder whether what inspires Tolkien's wanderers to set out is the pull of 'something' they don't understand, but whatever it is is a 'spiritual' pull. Perhaps those who stay where they are are the ones who have refused to listen to the voice of Eru in their hearts? What's that line in Augustine? 'Our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee'? Or in the psalm:

O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a weary land where there is no water.

I think Tolkien is using the idea of the 'wanderer' as a symbol. As Bilbo says, you have to be careful stepping into a road, because unless you keep your feet there is no knowing where you may be swept off to.' The physical journey seems the first step on the spiritual journey. Refusing to wander is refusing the goal, choosing the self & its desires over spiritual things. Tolkien's wanderers seem not just wiser & more 'useful' in the world, but more spiritually aware & compassionate too.

The odd thing is that Tolkien himself was someone who hardly travelled at all - well hardly at all physically.