Posted: June 26, 2000 at 03:12:24: by Tony Gustafson
: : : The Balrog was neither sitting nor hunched. The phrase can
: : : indeed mean increase one's height. It is the most ambiguous
: : : phrase in the passage, and many people have argued over
: : : whether it means the Balrog increased its size or not.: : Where does it indicate positively what the balrog's posture was
: : like prior to drawing itself to great height? : No, where does it indicate that the running, leaping Balrog was crouched over, kneeling, or sitting? My bad, I should've made my thoughts more clear than I did. I'm not talking about the balrog sitting or kneeling in a hunched fashion; I'm talking about the possibility that it was normally slouched (in a sort of pseudo-ape fashion). : If one is going to argue that "drew itself up to a great height" means the Balrog was sitting, kneeling, bending, or whatever, one is obligated to show that the Balrog was indeed in that kind of position. I'm not arguing that that is what it means. I'm arguing that it could mean the balrog did not normally stand fully erect. Why? Because the indication is there that it might have been slouched. A creature that slouches can run and leap over things. There is no definitive proof either way. : And since when are Maiar not allowed to change their height? Gandalf does so in Eregion. I don't know. When did I ever say they couldn't?
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