Absolute Good in Lord of the Rings

[mark12_30]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

But where or how was the hobbit code of virtue developed? As the Prologue makes clear, hobbits have no preserved knowledge of the vanished time of Elder Days; their records begin with the founding of the Shire and they have only legends and tales of an earlier time. So hobbits no longer have (if they once did) a form of revealed path to goodness or virtue.

Another question to toss in with that one: The classic (Western) virtues are listed as, prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude; faith, hope, and charity (agape love, or generosity). Do those virtues have anything to do with hobbits? With rangers? With elves? With the White Council, or some of our aforementioned archetypal candidates?