The Lost Road

"That cannot be, even if I wish it. It is against the law."

"It is against the rule. Laws are commands upon the will and are binding. Rules are conditions; they may have exceptions."

"But are there ever any exceptions?"

"Rules may be strict, yet they are the means, not the ends, of government. There are exceptions; for there is that which governs and is above the rules. Behold, it is by the chinks in the wall that light comes through, whereby men become aware of the light and therein perceive the wall and how it stands. The veil is woven, and each thread goes an appointed course, tracing a design; yet the tissue is not impenetrable, or the design would not be guessed; and if the design were not guessed, the veil would not be perceived, and all would dwell in darkness.... To each under the rule some unique fate is given, and one is exempted from that which is a rule to others."

—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lost Road, The History of Middle-Earth V, p48.
Posted by Tim at 1/26/2009 07:00:00 AM
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous1/27/2009 07:07:00 PM

    Tim,
    This is a delightfully anarchist quote. Who spake it? Such analogies. If only I could weave such tales!
    Dad

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  2. Tim1/28/2009 08:13:00 AM

    It is actually not anarchist at all. The government mentioned is the government of the world. The speaker is a visionary messenger from the past, offering the main character his desire, "long-hidden and half-spoken: to go back" in time. [Continued above.]

    Interestingly, the ellipsis contained "But these are old parables, and I came not to speak of such things. The world is not a machine that makes other machines after the fashion of Sauron." I left it out because I felt the same as you do.

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