Re: CHAT: Tolkien (was Re: fantasy)

And Rosta <a.rosta@...> comunu:

> Are elves a separate entity. I don't have my Silmarillion with me,
> but I thought hobbits are a variety of Men, and Men and elves are
> of the same "species", while Dwarves were independently created,
> and Orks are bred from elves.
Elves and Men are most definitely two different species.  Men have the "Gift
of Iluvatar", which happens to be a short life and death.  Elves stay in
Middle Earth until they are weary of it and finally depart.  If an elf is
killed in battle, I believe he goes to the Hall of Mandos to wait -- in
other words he still lives.  You can sail to Valinor and find a "slain" elf
in the Hall of Mandos, without having died yourself.  Unfortunately, you're
not allowed to leave the Hall of Mandos yourself...

It's definitely time for you to re-read the Silmarillion, And! :-)  I just
re-read it completely for the fourth time this spring -- it's a wonderful
book, but I didn't like it the first two times I attempted to read it.  I
now think its the best of all JRRT's works.

Best regards,

Jeffrey Henning
http://www.LangMaker.com/ - Invent Your Own Language
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