Valar Guild

November 28, 2021 Sunday Meeting

Double Pipes on both sides is the simplest to do inline spoilers.
For a full line do /spoiler msg:
full line of spoilers.
|| then put the spoiler, then put another set of double pipes

Landroval server:
Elwing
Eonwe
Eowyn
Fangorn
Meriadoc
Nar
Varda

Anor server:
Eonwe
Falco
Fangorn
Varda

Shadowfax server:
Varda

Treebeard server:
Varda

"There you would but wither and grow weary sooner, as moths in a light too strong and steadfast."

Morgoth's Ring

in "Myths Transformed:

"Let us suppose then that the Valar had also admitted to Aman some of the Atani, and (so that we may consider a whole life of a Man in such a state) that 'mortal' children were there born, as were children of the Eldar. Then, even though in Aman, a mortal child would still grow to maturity in some twenty years of the Sun, and the natural span of its life, the period of the choesion of hroa and fea, would be no more than, say, 100 years.

Not much more, even though his body would suffer no sickness or disorder in Aman, where no such evils existed. (Unless Men brought these evils with them -- as why should they not? Even the Eldar brought to the Blessed Realm some taint of the Shadow upon Arda in which they came into being.)

But in Aman such a creature would be a fleeting thing, the most swift-passing of all beasts. For his whole lifde would last little more than one half-year, and while all other living creatures would seem to him hardly to change, but to remain steadfast in life and joy with hope of endless years undimmed, he would rise and pass -- even as upon Earth the grass may rise in the spring and wither ere the winter.

But if any should ask: why could not in Aman the blessing of longevity be granted to him, as it was to the Eldar? This must be answered. Because this would bring joy to the Eldar, their nature being different from that of Men. The nature of an Elvish fea was to endure the world to the end, and an Elvish ea fnding that its hroa endured with it, supporting its indwelling and remaining unwearied in bodily delight, would have increased and more lasting joy.

But let us suppose that the 'blessing of Aman' was also according to Men What then? Would a great good be done to them? Their bodies would still come swiftly to full growth. In the seventh part of a year a Man could be born and become full-grown, as swiftly as in Aman a bird would hatch and fly from the nest. But then it would not wither or age but would endure in vigour and in the delight of bodily living. (edited)

But what of that Man's fea? It's nature and 'doom' could not be changed, neither by the health of Aman nor by the will of Manwë himself. Yet it is (as the Eldar hold), its nature and doom under the will of Eru that it should not endure Arda for long, but should depart and go elsewhither, returning maybe direct to Eru for another fate or purpose that is beyond the knowledge or guess of the Eldar.

Very soon then the fea and hroa of a Man in Aman would not be united and at peace, but would be opposed, to the great pain of both. The hroa being in full vigour and joy of life would cling to the fea, lest its departure should bring deathl and against death it would revolt as would a great beast in full life either flee from the hunter or turn savagely on him. But the fea would be as it were in prison, becoming ever more weary of all the delights of the hroa, until they were loathsome to it, longing ever more and more to be gone, until even those matters for its thought that it received through the hroa and its senses became meaningless.

Either his fea would be wholly dominated by the hroa, and he would beomce more liek a beast, though one tormented within, Or else, if his fea were strong, it would leave the hroa. Then one of two things would happen: either this would be accomplished only in hate, by violence, and the hroa, in full life, would be rent and die in sudden agony; or else the fea would in loathing and without pity desert the hroa, and it would live on, a witless body, not even a beast but a monster, a very work of Melkor in the midst of Aman, which the Valar themselves would fain destroy."

Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be....Robert Browning.