Gandalf is a type of leader, but he ultimately passes leadership of the Company to Aragorn, whose fate it is to be the greater heroic figure in the eyes of many. The enemy will only progress over my dead body, for I would rather see the will of God done and acknowledge the creator in a darkening world than enjoy whatever glories this present age has to offer.” Likewise, few who would say to others, “You go on and get the greater glory. But there are very few people who would offer to make the treacherous and relatively anonymous journey to Mordor. Many would bear a Ring of Power or set up a kingdom, undoubtedly with themselves as kings and queens. In this world, we have plenty of people who are willing to be the leaders on horseback, charging out to face the enemy lines and slay dozens of orcs. It was his doom to raise up others who would fight on, while himself standing in the face of the storm and declaring, “You cannot pass,” which is to say, “Over my dead body alone may you pass.” It was his doom to come alongside others, speaking hope into their hearts-to sacrifice himself on behalf of the cause, thus revealing his character to be fully in line with the will of God. It was never Gandalf’s doom to be the ultimate hero in that war. I may only be a human being living in the present age of our own world, but I feel a deep connection with Gandalf. He is not setting himself up as equal to God. Unlike his fellow wizard Saruman, Gandalf is not seeking a kingdom of his own or the power to control others. The wizard’s purpose in the world is to see the will of God done and honor Ilúvatar’s creative intent. This is akin to saying that he is a servant of the creator or a servant of the will of God. Melkor wanted to possess the Flame Imperishable and have control over the Secret Fire, but Gandalf proclaims himself to be a servant of the Secret Fire. When the Vala Aulë creates the Dwarves, they do not have free spirits of their own until Ilúvatar chooses in his mercy to grant them. Thus, we see in the legendarium he developed that even the Valar (powerful angel-like beings) are only sub-creators. Tolkien not only believed this, but also stressed that while God is creator, man can only ever be a sub-creator. Those who hold to this theory believe that evil has no real existence in itself but is merely the absence of good. This understanding of evil is in line with Neo-Platonic and Augustinian thought, and the technical term is the privation theory of evil. ( Editor’s note: for more on Tolkien’s development of this idea of Melkor’s corruption of elves into orcs and the problems with it that he wrestled with, see this past issue of “Ask Jokien” where a reader asked “ What is the Lifecycle of an Orc? ”) Even the orcs were not created out of nothing but made by twisting and perverting Elves. He can only change what already exists, perverting it to his evil purposes. Melkor’s desire to possess this flame and thereby bestow the Secret Fire upon new beings reveals his desire to be equal to God, but as a created being himself, Melkor cannot bring truly new things into being. He discovered that the Flame Imperishable resides in God and cannot be usurped by even the most powerful Valar. In the very beginning, Melkor (later renamed Morgoth) sought ought the Flame Imperishable, wanting to have that creative power himself. Only the one with the Flame Imperishable can truly create new beings with sentient life. It is the product of the great creator, in whom is found the Flame Imperishable. 2 Not only that, but it lies at the heart of creation, enabling everything that exists to do so. From The Silmarillion, we learn that the Secret Fire is the very spark of creative energy that resides in all creatures in Tolkien’s mythical world of Arda, giving them life. The fire of Ilúvatar, the God in Tolkien’s legendarium, is light and life. That is why Gandalf tells the Balrog that “dark fire” will not avail him. But although he created bright blazes in the caverns of Udûn, the fires of Morgoth belonged to the darkness. Morgoth was the original villain in Tolkien’s legendarium, more powerful even than Sauron. The Secret Fire is thoroughly in opposition to the fires of Morgoth, which are seen in the Balrog. What makes this passage so emotionally resonant is Gandalf’s words to the Balrog: not only his emphatic and repeated statement that, “You cannot pass,” which shows his courage and determination, but his identification of himself: “I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor.” He also identifies his opponent as a “flame of Udûn.” With these words, he reveals his purpose and the significance of this fight.
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