I recently finished reading The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.
It was a very interesting compilation of letters Tolkien wrote to his
publishers, children, fans and friends between 1914 and 1973. They really paint
a picture of Tolkien’s thoughts and personality. As a longtime fan and admirer
of Tolkien, I enjoyed the book a lot. It made me want to take up letter writing
although it seems a lost art these days. Some of the things he said really
stood out to me so I made special note of them. Here are some quotes I marked:
[On choosing to use “dwarves” rather than “dwarfs” in The
Hobbit]
“The real ‘historical’ plural of dwarf (like teeth of
tooth) is dwarrows anyway: rather a nice word, but a bit too archaic.
Still, I rather wish I had used the word dwarrow.” (#17, 1937)
[In response to a potential German publisher of The
Hobbit inquiring in 1938 whether he was of Aryan race.]
“I regret that I am not clear as to what you intend by arisch.
I am not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-iranian; as far as I am aware
none of my ancestors spoke Hindustani, Persian, Gypsy, or any related dialects.
But if I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish
origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no
ancestors of that gifted people.” (#30, 1938)
“Though in times of peace we get, perhaps (and naturally and
for the purpose rightly), too engrossed in thinking of everything as a
preparation or training or making one fit – for what? At any minute it is what
we are and are doing, not what we plan to be and do that counts.” (#40, 1940)
“There is a place called ‘heaven’ where the good here
unfinished is completed; and where the stories unwritten, and the hopes
unfulfilled, are continued.” (#45,1941)
“You have to understand the good in things, to detect the
real evil.” (#45, 1941)
“…that ruddy ignoramus Adolf Hitler…” (#45,1941)
“But who knows? We are in God’s hands. Our lot has fallen on
evil days: but that cannot be by mere ill chance. Take care of yourself
in all due ways (aequam serva mentem, comprime linguam [keep a calm mind and
restrain the tongue])” (#61, 1944)
“Good sermons require some art, some virtue, some knowledge.
Real sermons require some special grace which does not transcend art but
arrives at it by instinct or ‘inspiration’; indeed the Holy Spirit seems
sometimes to speak through a human mouth providing art, virtue and insight he
himself does not possess: but the occasions are rare.” (#63, 1944)
“The utter stupid waste of war, not only material but moral
and spiritual, is so staggering to those who have to endure it. And always was
(despite the poets), and always will be (despite the propagandists) – not of
course that it has not is and will be necessary to face it in an evil world.”
(#64, 1944)
“[Priscilla Tolkien has] just read Out of the S. Planet
and Perelandra; and with good taste preferred the latter. But she finds
it hard to realize that Ransom is not meant to be a portrait of me (though as a
philologist I may have some part in him, and recognize some of my opinions and
ideas Lewisified in him).” (#77, 1944)
“Do ‘ramble on’. Letters need not be only about exterior
events (though all details are welcome). What you are thinking is just as
important: Christmas, bee-noises, and all the rest.” (#83, 1944)
“It is the aeroplane of war that is the real villain… My
sentiments are more or less those that Frodo would have had if he discovered
some Hobbits learning to ride Nazgûl birds, ‘for the liberation of the Shire’.”
(#100, 1945)
[On the atomic bomb]
“The utter folly of these lunatic physicists to consent to
do such work for war-purposes: calmly plotting the destruction of the world!”
(#102, 1945)
“Reward on earth is more dangerous for men than punishment!”
(#130, 1950)
“The Lord of the Rings is a fundamentally religious
and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.
That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to
anything like ‘religion’, to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For
the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism.” (#142,
1953)
“…an imaginary mythical Age (mythical, not allegorical: my
mind does not work allegorically).” (#144, 1954)
“As a story, I think it is good that there should be a lot
of things unexplained (especially if an explanation actually exists);” (#144,
1954)
“Great harm can be done, of course, by this potent mode of
‘myth’ – especially wilfully. The right to ‘freedom’ of the subcreator is no
guarantee among fallen men that it will not be used as wickedly as is Free
Will.” (#153, 1954)
“But it is difficult to stop once roused on such an
absorbing topic to oneself as oneself.” (#163, 1955)
“I do think of the ‘Dwarves’ like Jews; at once native and
alien in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with an
accent due to their own private tongue….” (#176, 1955)
“I have now got a pestilent doctorate thesis to explore,
when I would rather be doing something less useful….” (#176, 1955)
“For if there is anything in a journey of any length, for me
it is this: a deliverance from the plantlike state of helpless passive
sufferer, an exercise however small of will, and mobility – and of curiosity,
without which a rational mind becomes stultified.” (#183, 1956)
“As ‘research students’ always discover, however long they
are allowed, and careful their work and their notes, there is always a rush at
the end, when the last date suddenly approaches on which their thesis must be
presented.” (#187, 1956)
“I wish well-meaning folk who think they know could be
restrained!” (#236, 1961)
[On working on the entry for "hobbit" in the Oxford English Dictionary]
“Oh what a tangled web they weave who try a new word to
conceive!” (#319, 1971)
“[The name Tolkien] is not Jewish in origin though I should
consider it an honour if it were.” (#324, 1971)
