Posted: February 14, 1999 at 06:33:47: by Padster
: However, its never stated that he has no chance of forgiveness or redemption. His wandering the shores in despair was his own doing - not the Valar's. If he wants forgiveness and redemption, he should have taken positive action to try to make up for the evil he was a part of. Rather than wallow in self-pity he could have tried to *do* something.: Russ An easy thing to say from the sidelines, while by no means taking into account the whole picture. The Valar chose to call the elves to them in the beginning thereby making themselves responsible for them. The Valar chose to become their tutors and guides, the Valar chose *not* to act when one of their own kind became responsible to the death of thousands of elven kind, the Valar chose not to act after the marring of the greatest of the elves, an act which they all recognised (especially Manwe) to have been one of the greatest evils Melkor committed. The Valar chose a hell of a lot of things, mainly based on their own selfishness. I suppose you could say that they were only following Eru's directions, but either way, once within the confines of the world, they were its portectors and in taking the elves, who must have been as children to them (in mind and body), they became responsible for them and their actions. And if they could not bring themselves to forgive one of the few elves who was sorry for what he had done, then they were not any good as protectors of Arda and its peoples. Its called vicarious liability. Besides what was there for Maglor to do at the end of the First Age. Evil was defeated. Sauron had certainly (for a time) turned his back on his past. And Morgoth, the enemy of all elves, wasn't coming back. I am sure that some of Maglors lirics in his laments about the sorrow of the Noldor would have included: 'Why the hell, when they had the power all along, did the Valar not do anything sooner. Didi they believe that the death of thousands of the free poeples of Middle Earth was some sort of abject lesson to the survivors not to cross the power and authority of the Valar' - with a finger wagging at them all the time. No. Its not as simple as wallowing in self-pity, especially when you have seen your six brothers (no matter how misguided some of them may have been, they were never-the-less your brothers), you father and your grand-father slain as well as your whole people decimated by a force which could have been defeated a lot earlier by the forces of good from across the sea - wallowing in their own self pity and self gratification. Its not that simple by a long chalk. Padster
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