Can anything good come from Men?

[blantyr]

Originally Posted by Selador

I have to disagree. I don't see any fundamental difference. Many individual men fell, but many others did not. There were certainly good men, and so I don't think that one can say that the entire race of Men fell. They were universally susceptible to fall, yes. But Elves were also universally susceptible to fall. Otherwise, no individual Elves could have fallen.

I think there is a difference of kind, if not degree. The Music of the Ainur might give the sense of it better than I could. There is a strength and a sadness in the third theme. The elves might be better able to maintain an idealized memory of the purity of the beginning, while mankind has its own strengths and its own flaws. Certainly, each race messed it up big time in turn, but the sense I have at the end of LotR is that the Elves would withdraw but that human kind would continue to grow, thrive and fulfill the intent of the Music.