and I did not mean to imply otherwise. Generosity cannot be written into
law, it is the choice of the individual. I don't mean to suggest that
Tolkien discounted property rights. But the laws of men, or even of the
Valar, are different from moral law. The Valar could not force Feanor to
give up the Silmarils, but Feanor was undoubtedly wrong to refuse them.
Having a right and being right are two different things.
Gandalf asks Bilbo to give up the Ring exactly as the Valar ask Feanor to give
up the Silmarils. Bilbo claims ownership exactly as Feanor claims
ownership. Fortunately, Bilbo has a change of heart. The Ring does
not have the Light of the Trees in it. Both Bilbo and Feanor have the
right of ownership, as Gandalf and the Valar acknowledge. But that does
not mean they are morally correct to assert that right.
I agree that "Property ownsership conveys rights, but it also conveys
responsibilities to contribute to and maintain a just social structure.
Hoarding means enforcing the rights but failing to recognize the
responsibilities." I disagree, however, that generosity is merely a means
of gaining status in society, a utilitarian and pragmatic quid pro quo, as it
were. Perhaps I misunderstood Penthe's thesis, as you misunderstood
mine.
“I dislike Allegory - the conscious and intentional allegory - yet any attempt to explain the purport of myth or fairytale must use allegorical language. (And, of course, the more 'life' a story has the more readily will it be susceptible of allegorical interpretations: while the better a deliberate allegory is made the more nearly will it be acceptable just as a story.)” (From Tolkien Letter # 131.)
Tips for posting in the Reading Room.
