The Wise in Middle Earth

[Farael]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Those who do eventually show real wisdom are those who admit their failings and flaws, showing that Tolkien was possibly making a point that nobody should ever be too proud of their knowledge or intelligence as it's simply not possible for one person to know everything.

I would say that this statement probably defines "wisdom" the best, as opposed to "knowledge". Wisdom, to me, is an inherent property of the self while knowledge is a learned attribute. This means that, iif a "wise man" was bornn complete isolation from civilization, he will still be wise. However, his wisdom will be expressed in ways that are not the ones associated with wisdom in civilization, as he would not have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge that has been learned since the beginning of written history. His wisdom will probably be reflected in more practical ways as they involve with his own survival (after all, humans are social animals and a human isolated from civilization will be very hard pressed to survive)

Conversely, a "dumb" man (for absense of a better word) will still be dumb, even if he learns all there is to know about "lore". It is not WHAT he knows, but rather HOW he uses this knowledge. For example, Saruman was very knowledgeable, but he did not see that his path would ultimately lead to his own demise. Not only would trying to compete with Sauron for the Ring lead to a very angry and vengeful Sauron... but even if Saruman had succeeded, he would have ultimately succumbed to the Ring itself, which would have caused his undoing. He might have survived, but he would have become an unwitting slave to Sauron's will.

Therefore, according to my perspective, I would say that Elrond was wise indeed as not only he had knowledge, but he acted upon it in a sensible manner. Not only he made good choices, but he also listened to other people's suggestions (even if at first he did not want to do it, he DID send Pippin with the rest of the company. Not to mention that he meant to send Pippin back to warn The Shire about the impending evil... and it would've been a reasonable course of action, as we learn much later from The Scouring of The Shire)

Gandalf was also wise, he was very aware of his own strenghts and weaknesses and was able to "see the big picture" and understand the complexities of everything that was happening in Middle Earth. He is, in my opinion, Elrond's equal, as he seeks Elrond's advice and gives advice to him.

Finally, I would say that Frodo was also wise after a fashion. Certainly he was not knowledgeable, but he managed to achieve something that very few (if anyone else) would have. He did this through his realization of his own shortcomings, which lead him to lean on those who were willing to help him. Should he had been "wise" (note: sarcasm) as Saruman, he might have been to proud to accept help from Faramir, Sam or even Gollum (he might have had an ulterior motive, but without Gollum the Ring would have never been destroyed, and I don't mean the finger biting alone).