From what I read, Gandalf always seemed to have a literal radiance about him
when he was not deliberately cloaking himself. He certainly created an
impression in the minds of those viewing him that he was literally glowing. In
TTT, Book III, chap v, it describes his putting on a grey cloak as the sun
seeming to go behind a cloud. Or maybe I've just always imgined him having a
literal
shining.
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"'Nine times seven,' thought Shuman with deep satisfaction, 'is sixty-three, and I don't need a computer to tell me so. The computer is in my own head.'
And it was amazing the feeling of power that gave him."
