Tea at Trianon: Why Didn't They Hide The One Ring In The Undying Lands?

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Why Didn't They Hide The One Ring In The Undying Lands?

From Gamerant:

When trying to decide which is best, several suggestions are made. It is thought that it might be given to Tom Bombadil, who lives in the old forest, and is thought to be the oldest creature in Middle Earth. He has already encountered the hobbits during their crossing from The Shire and offered them rest and sanctuary in his abode, and during this time, he proves that he is completely unaffected by the ring and shows no sign of being tempted or seduced by its power.

Although at first he seems like the perfect guardian, Gandalf says that the perils of the mortal world are beyond Bombadil’s care or concern. Therefore the wise old spirit is just as likely to carelessly lose the ring or throw it away as keep it safe, without even knowing the great harm and evil this could do. It is also suggested that the ring be thrown into the depths of the deepest ocean, where it will be lost beyond all recall.

However, this suggestion is also debunked, as there are dark and evil creatures who lie within the sea, who may find the ring and deliver it to the dark lord himself. And as can be seen when the ring betrayed Isildur, one of the Gondorian kings upon whom the Argonath are based, and made its way first into the sea, and then down the great river into the hands of Deagol the Stoor hobbit, and then Smeagol (aka Gollum), the ring cannot be trusted not to make its own way out of the sea and into the hands of the enemy.

Lord of the Rings fans worldwide have often asked why the giant eagles of Middle Earth didn’t simply fly the ring to Mordor themselves and drop it in the fire. However, these creatures are Maia, ancient spirits, and therefore are not inclined to interfere in the affairs of men, and even if they were so, they wouldn’t put themselves in close proximity to the ring and its alluring voice, in case they too were sucked in and twisted by its power. So the audience then turned to asking: why didn’t they hide the ring in the Undying Lands of the west, where Sauron could never reach it? The answer has to do in part with the lore of the Grey Havens, and in part with Tolkien’s own beliefs. (Read more.)