The Danger of Light and Joy in LOTR
Upon his departure from Lorien and the fair lady Galadriel, Gimli the dwarf laments,
"Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road. Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord. Alas for Gimli son of Gloin" (369).
What is the reason for Gimli's lament? He says, "I have looked the last upon that which is fairest...Henceforth I will call nothing fair, unless it be her [Galadriel's] gift" (369). Here, we have a remarkable declaration, that it is worse to part with Light and Joy than to endure terrible torrment in the dark, by the Dark Lord himself. What a bold statement! But is there any truth in it? What is it the Gimli experienced, and why was he so grieved at his parting with it?
Perhaps Gimli's lament can be put this way: It is worse to part with Goodness than to endure evil. One can endure evil so long as he has Goodness and hope in him or about him. But without Goodness, even in the absence of any evil, one cannot abide. There must be truth to this. A world without any Goodness, without anything fair and beautiful, would be hell indeed. One can endure great evils and great sufferings if he knows good will someday come of it. As Nietzche once said, "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how".
But there is more here. Gimli is distraught because all else that he now sees pales in comparison to the beauty and wonder of Lorien. He is distraught because his will is properly ordered to what is good, fair, noble, beautiful, and just and to part with the true object of his will causes him distress. Contrast this with the enemy. Whenever one of the evil folk- orcs or even Gollum- come into contact with things of the elves they balk at it and its touch causes them great pain. The orcs even cut down beautiful old trees and leave them to rot, a blatant disregard for the beauty and magic of Middle-earth.
Those who are allied with Goodness are able to a) recognize beauty and Goodness, b) experience awe and wonder in response to beauty and Goodness, and c) order their will toward beauty and goodness, so that their action is in conformity with the standards of what is Good and beautiful. Those who are Good live in accordance with an Ideal. Those who are evil do not.
Those who ally themselves with evil are not capable of doing these things, perhaps with the exception of a above, but only in a degraded manner. The evil-doers in Middle-earth cannot experience awe and wonder in response to beauty, they detest beautiful things. Some of them seem to be able to recognize beautiful and good things, for they detest them. But they do not recognize beautiful and good things for what they are- the proper objects of our will. Evil-doers can also not order their wills towards the Good and the Beautiful, for the actively and intentionally act contrary to it.
Gimli's lament can offer us many lessons. Perhaps chief among them is the danger latent in the rejection of all things Good and Beautiful, though of course Gimli does not reject it- he merely parts with it out of necessity. The lesson has broader implications. To reject what is Good is a great evil, far greater than to experience any other evil of the enemy.
"Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road. Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord. Alas for Gimli son of Gloin" (369).
What is the reason for Gimli's lament? He says, "I have looked the last upon that which is fairest...Henceforth I will call nothing fair, unless it be her [Galadriel's] gift" (369). Here, we have a remarkable declaration, that it is worse to part with Light and Joy than to endure terrible torrment in the dark, by the Dark Lord himself. What a bold statement! But is there any truth in it? What is it the Gimli experienced, and why was he so grieved at his parting with it?
Perhaps Gimli's lament can be put this way: It is worse to part with Goodness than to endure evil. One can endure evil so long as he has Goodness and hope in him or about him. But without Goodness, even in the absence of any evil, one cannot abide. There must be truth to this. A world without any Goodness, without anything fair and beautiful, would be hell indeed. One can endure great evils and great sufferings if he knows good will someday come of it. As Nietzche once said, "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how".
But there is more here. Gimli is distraught because all else that he now sees pales in comparison to the beauty and wonder of Lorien. He is distraught because his will is properly ordered to what is good, fair, noble, beautiful, and just and to part with the true object of his will causes him distress. Contrast this with the enemy. Whenever one of the evil folk- orcs or even Gollum- come into contact with things of the elves they balk at it and its touch causes them great pain. The orcs even cut down beautiful old trees and leave them to rot, a blatant disregard for the beauty and magic of Middle-earth.
Those who are allied with Goodness are able to a) recognize beauty and Goodness, b) experience awe and wonder in response to beauty and Goodness, and c) order their will toward beauty and goodness, so that their action is in conformity with the standards of what is Good and beautiful. Those who are Good live in accordance with an Ideal. Those who are evil do not.
Those who ally themselves with evil are not capable of doing these things, perhaps with the exception of a above, but only in a degraded manner. The evil-doers in Middle-earth cannot experience awe and wonder in response to beauty, they detest beautiful things. Some of them seem to be able to recognize beautiful and good things, for they detest them. But they do not recognize beautiful and good things for what they are- the proper objects of our will. Evil-doers can also not order their wills towards the Good and the Beautiful, for the actively and intentionally act contrary to it.
Gimli's lament can offer us many lessons. Perhaps chief among them is the danger latent in the rejection of all things Good and Beautiful, though of course Gimli does not reject it- he merely parts with it out of necessity. The lesson has broader implications. To reject what is Good is a great evil, far greater than to experience any other evil of the enemy.
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