J.R.R. Tolkien - Silmarillion

VIP免费

2024-12-04 0 0 1.14MB 165 页 5.9玖币

侵权投诉

FOREWORD

The Silmarillion, now published four years after the death of its author, is an account of the Elder

Days, or the First Age of the World. In The Lord of the Rings were narrated the great events at the

end of the Third Age; but the tales of The Silmarillion are legends deriving from a much deeper

past, when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-earth, and the High Elves made war upon

him for the recovery of the Silmarils.

Not only, however, does The Silmarillion relate the events of a far earlier time than those of

The Lord of the Rings; it is also, in all the essentials of its conception, far the earlier work. Indeed,

although it was not then called The Silmarillion, it was already in being half a century ago; and in

battered notebooks extending back to 1917 can still be read the earliest versions, often hastily

pencilled, of the central stories of the mythology. But it was never published (though some

indication of its content could be gleaned from The Lord of the Rings), and throughout my father's

long life he never abandoned it, nor ceased even in his last years to work on it. In all that time The

Silmarillion, considered simply as a large narrative structure, underwent relatively little radical

change; it became long ago a fixed tradition, and background to later writings. But it was far indeed

from being a fixed text, and did not remain unchanged even in certain fundamental ideas

concerning the nature of the world it portrays; while the same legends came to be retold in longer

and shorter forms, and in different styles. As the years passed the changes and variants, both in

detail and in larger perspectives, became so complex, so pervasive, and so many-layered that a final

and definitive version seemed unattainable. Moreover the old legends ('old' now not only in their

derivation from the remote First Age, but also in terms of my father's life) became the vehicle and

depository of his profoundest reflections. In h is later writing mythology and poetry sank down

behind his theological and philosophical preoccupations: from which arose incompatibilities of

tone.

On my father's death it fell to me to try to bring the work into publishable form. It became

clear to me that to attempt to present, within the covers of a single book the diversity of the

materials – to show The Silmarillion as in truth a continuing and evolving creation extending over

more than half a century – would in fact lead only to confusion and the submerging of what is

essential I set myself therefore to work out a single text selecting and arranging in such a way as

seemed to me to produce the most coherent and internally self-consistent narrative. In this work the

concluding chapters (from the death of Túrin Turambar) introduced peculiar difficulties, in that they

had remained unchanged for many years, and were in some respects in serious disharmony with

more developed conceptions in other parts of the book.

A complete consistency (either within the compass of The Silmarillion itself or between The

Silmarillion and other published writings of my father's) is not to be looked for, and could only be

achieved, if at all at heavy and needless cost. Moreover, my father came to conceive The

Silmarillion as a compilation, a compendious narrative, made long afterwards from sources of great

diversity (poems, and annals, and oral tales) that had survived in agelong tradition; and this

conception has indeed its parallel in the actual history of the book, for a great deal of earlier prose

and poetry does underlie it, and it is to some extent a compendium in fact and not only in theory. To

this may be ascribed the varying speed of the narrative and fullness of detail in different parts, the

contrast (for example) of the precise recollections of place and motive in the legend of Túrin

Turambar beside the high and remote account of the end of the First Age, when Thangorodrim was

broken and Morgoth overthrown; and also some differences of tone and portrayal, some obscurities,

and, here and there, some lack of cohesion. In the case of the Valaquenta, for instance, we have to

assume that while it contains much that must go back to the earliest days of the Eldar in Valinor, it

was remodelled in later times; and thus explain its continual shifting of tense and viewpoint, so that

the divine powers seem now present and active in the world, now remote, a vanished order known

only to memory.

The book, though entitled as it must be The Silmarillion, contains not only the Quenta

Silmarillion, or Silmarillion proper, but also four other short works. The Ainulindalë and

Valaquenta, which are given at the beginning, are indeed closely related with The Silmarillion; but

the Akallabêth and Of the Rings of Power, which appear at the end, are (it must to emphasised)

wholly separate and independent. They are included according to my father's explicit intention; and

by their inclusion is set forth the entire history is set forth from the Music of the Ainur in which the

world began to the passing of the Ringbearers from the havens of Mithlond at the end of the Third

Age.

The number of names that occur in the book is very large, and I have provided a full index;

but the number of persons (Elves and Men) who play an important part in the narrative of the First

Age is very much smaller, and all of these will be found in the genealogical tables. In addition I

have provided a table setting out the rather complex naming of the different Elvish peoples; a note

on the pronunciation of Elvish names, and a list of some of the chief elements found in these names;

and a map. It may be noted that the great mountain range in the east, Ered Luin or Ered Lindon, the

Blue Mountains, appears in the extreme west of the map in The Lord of the Rings. In the body of the

book there is a smaller map: the intention of this is to make clear at a glance where lay the

kingdoms of the Elves after the return of the Noldor to Middle-earth. I have not burdened the book

further with any sort of commentary or annotation. There is indeed a wealth of unpublished writing

by my father concerning the Three Ages, narrative, linguistic, historical, and philosophical, and I

hope that it will prove possible to publish some of this at a later date.

In the difficult and doubtful task of preparing the text of the book I was very greatly assisted

by Guy Kay, who worked with me in 1974-1975.

Christopher Tolkien

– 3 –

AINULINDALË

The Music of the Ainur

There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the

offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made. And he spoke to them, propounding to

them themes of music; and they sang before him, and he was glad. But for a long while they sang only each alone, or

but few together, while the rest hearkened; for each comprehended only that part of me mind of Ilúvatar from which he

came, and in the understanding of their brethren they grew but slowly. Yet ever as they listened they came to deeper

understanding, and increased in unison and harmony.

And it came to pass that Ilúvatar called together all the Ainur and declared to them a mighty theme, unfolding to

them things greater and more wonderful than he had yet revealed; and the glory of its beginning and the splendour of its

end amazed the Ainur, so that they bowed before Ilúvatar and were silent.

Then Ilúvatar said to them: 'Of the theme that I have declared to you, I will now that ye make in harmony

together a Great Music. And since I have kindled you with the Flame Imperishable, ye shall show forth your powers in

adorning this theme, each with his own thoughts and devices, if he will. But I win sit and hearken, and be glad that

through you great beauty has been wakened into song.'

Then the voices of the Ainur, like unto harps and lutes, and pipes and trumpets, and viols and organs, and like

unto countless choirs singing with words, began to fashion the theme of Ilúvatar to a great music; and a sound arose of

endless interchanging melodies woven in harmony that passed beyond hearing into the depths and into the heights, and

the places of the dwelling of Ilúvatar were filled to overflowing, and the music and the echo of the music went out into

the Void, and it was not void. Never since have the Ainur made any music like to this music, though it has been said

that a greater still shall be made before Ilúvatar by the choirs of the Ainur and the Children of Ilúvatar after the end of

days. Then the themes of Ilúvatar shall be played aright, and take Being in the moment of their utterance, for all shall

then understand fully his intent in their part, and each shall know the comprehension of each, and Ilúvatar shall give to

their thoughts the secret fire, being well pleased.

But now Ilúvatar sat and hearkened, and for a great while it seemed good to him, for in the music there were no

flaws. But as the theme progressed, it came into the heart of Melkor to interweave matters of his own imagining that

were not in accord with the theme of Ilúvatar, for he sought therein to increase the power and glory of the part assigned

to himself. To Melkor among the Ainur had been given the greatest gifts of power and knowledge, and he had a share

in all the gifts of his brethren. He had gone often alone into the void places seeking the Imperishable Flame; for desire

grew hot within him to bring into Being things of his own, and it seemed to him that Ilúvatar took no thought for the

Void, and he was impatient of its emptiness. Yet he found not the Fire, for it is with Ilúvatar. But being alone he had

begun to conceive thoughts of his own unlike those of his brethren.

Some of these thoughts he now wove into his music, and straightway discord arose about him, and many that

sang nigh him grew despondent, and their thought was disturbed and their music faltered; but some began to attune

their music to his rather than to the thought which they had at first. Then the discord of Melkor spread ever wider, and

the melodies which had been heard before foundered in a sea of turbulent sound. But Ilúvatar sat and hearkened until it

seemed that about his throne there was a raging storm, as of dark waters that made war one upon another in an endless

wrath that would not be assuaged.

Then Ilúvatar arose, and the Ainur perceived that he smiled; and he lifted up his left hand, and a new theme

began amid the storm, like and yet unlike to the former theme, and it gathered power and had new beauty. But the

discord of Melkor rose in uproar and contended with it, and again there was a war of sound more violent than before,

until many of the Ainur were dismayed and sang no longer, and Melkor had the mastery. Then again Ilúvatar arose, and

the Ainur perceived that his countenance was stern; and he lifted up his right hand, and behold! a third theme grew

amid the confusion, and it was unlike the others. For it seemed at first soft and sweet, a mere rippling of gentle sounds

in delicate melodies; but it could not be quenched, and it took to itself power and profundity. And it seemed at last that

there were two musics progressing at one time before the seat of Ilúvatar, and they were utterly at variance. The one

was deep and wide and beautiful, but slow and blended with an immeasurable sorrow, from which its beauty chiefly

came. The other had now achieved a unity of its own; but it was loud, and vain, and endlessly repeated; and it had little

harmony, but rather a clamorous unison as of many trumpets braying upon a few notes. And it essayed to drown the

other music by the violence of its voice, but it seemed that its most triumphant notes were taken by the other and woven

into its own solemn pattern.

In the midst of this strife, whereat the halls of Ilúvatar shook and a tremor ran out into the silences yet unmoved,

Ilúvatar arose a third time, and his face was terrible to behold. Then he raised up both his hands, and in one chord,

deeper than the Abyss, higher than the Firmament, piercing as the light of the eye of Ilúvatar, the Music ceased.

– 4 –

Then Ilúvatar spoke, and he said: 'Mighty are the Ainur, and mightiest among them is Melkor; but that he may

know, and all the Ainur, that I am Ilúvatar, those things that ye have sung, I will show them forth, that ye may see what

ye have done. And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can

any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things

more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.'

Then the Ainur were afraid, and they did not yet comprehend the words that were said to them; and Melkor was

filled with shame, of which came secret anger. But Ilúvatar arose in splendour, and he went forth from the fair regions

that he had made for the Ainur; and the Ainur followed him.

But when they were come into the Void, Ilúvatar said to them: 'Behold your Music!' And he showed to them a

vision, giving to them sight where before was only hearing; arid they saw a new World made visible before them, and it

was globed amid the Void, and it was sustained therein, but was not of it. And as they looked and wondered this World

began to unfold its history, and it seemed to them that it lived and grew. And when the Ainur had gazed for a while and

were silent, Ilúvatar said again: 'Behold your Music! This is your minstrelsy; and each of you shall find contained

herein, amid the design that I set before you, all those things which it may seem that he himself devised or added. And

thou, Melkor, wilt discover all the secret thoughts of thy mind, and wilt perceive that they are but a part of the whole

and tributary to its glory.'

And many other things Ilúvatar spoke to the Ainur at that time, and because of their memory of his words, and

the knowledge that each has of the music that he himself made, the Ainur know much of what was, and is, and is to

come, and few things are unseen by them. Yet some things there are that they cannot see, neither alone nor taking

counsel together; for to none but himself has Ilúvatar revealed all that he has in store, and in every age there come forth

things that are new and have no foretelling, for they do not proceed from the past. And so it was that as this vision of

the World was played before them, the Ainur saw that it contained things which they had not thought. And they saw

with amazement the coming of the Children of Ilúvatar, and the habitation that was prepared for them; and they

perceived that they themselves in the labour of their music had been busy with the preparation of this dwelling, and yet

knew not that it had any purpose beyond its own beauty. For the Children of Ilúvatar were conceived by him alone; and

they came with the third theme, and were not in the theme which Ilúvatar propounded at the beginning, and none of the

Ainur had part in their making. Therefore when they beheld them, the more did they love them, being things other than

themselves, strange and free, wherein they saw the mind of Ilúvatar reflected anew, and learned yet a little more of his

wisdom, which otherwise had been hidden even from the Ainur.

Now the Children of Ilúvatar are Elves and Men, the Firstborn and the Followers. And amid all the splendours

of the World, its vast halls and spaces, and its wheeling fires, Ilúvatar chose a place for their habitation in the Deeps of

Time and in the midst of the innumerable stars. And this habitation might seem a little thing to those who consider only

the majesty of the Ainur, and not their terrible sharpness; as who should take the whole field of Arda for the foundation

of a pillar and so raise it until the cone of its summit were more bitter than a needle; or who consider only the

immeasurable vastness of the World, which still the Ainur are shaping, and not the minute precision to which they

shape all things therein. But when the Ainur had beheld this habitation in a vision and had seen the Children of Ilúvatar

arise therein, then many of the most mighty among them bent all their thought and their desire towards that place. And

of these Melkor was the chief, even as he was in the beginning the greatest of the Ainur who took part in the Music.

And he feigned, even to himself at first, that he desired to go thither and order all things for the good of the Children of

Ilúvatar, controlling the turmoils of the heat and the cold that had come to pass through him. But he desired rather to

subdue to his will both Elves and Men, envying the gifts with which Ilúvatar promised to endow them; and he wished

himself to have subject and servants, and to be called Lord, and to be a master over other wills.

But the other Ainur looked upon this habitation set within the vast spaces of the World, which the Elves call

Arda, the Earth; and their hearts rejoiced in light, and their eyes beholding many colours were filled with gladness; but

because of the roaring of the sea they felt a great unquiet. And they observed the winds and the air, and the matters of

which Arda was made, of iron and stone and silver and gold and many substances: but of all these water they most

greatly praised. And it is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in

any substance else that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the

Sea, and yet know not for what they listen.

Now to water had that Ainu whom the Elves can Ulmo turned his thought, and of all most deeply was he

instructed by Ilúvatar in music. But of the airs and winds Manwë most had pondered, who is the noblest of the Ainur.

Of the fabric of Earth had Aulë thought, to whom Ilúvatar had given skin and knowledge scarce less than to Melkor;

but the delight and pride of Aulë is in the deed of making, and in the thing made, and neither m possession nor in his

own mastery; wherefore he gives and hoards not, and is free from care, passing ever on to some new work.

And Ilúvatar spoke to Ulmo, and said: 'Seest thou not how here in this little realm in the Deeps of Time Melkor

hath made war upon thy province? He hath bethought him of bitter cold immoderate, and yet hath not destroyed the

beauty of thy fountains, nor of my clear pools. Behold the snow, and the cunning work of frost! Melkor hath devised

heats and fire without restraint, and hath not dried up thy desire nor utterly quelled the music of the sea. Behold rather

– 5 –

the height and glory of the clouds, and the everchanging mists; and listen to the fall of rain upon the Earth! And in these

clouds thou art drawn nearer to Manwë, thy friend, whom thou lovest.'

Then Ulmo answered: 'Truly, Water is become now fairer than my heart imagined, neither had my secret thought

conceived the snowflake, nor in all my music was contained the falling of the rain. I will seek Manwë, that he and I

may make melodies for ever to my delight!' And Manwë and Ulmo have from the beginning been allied, and in all

things have served most faithfully the purpose of Ilúvatar.

But even as Ulmo spoke, and while the Ainur were yet gazing upon this vision, it was taken away and hidden

from their sight; and it seemed to them that in that moment they perceived a new thing, Darkness, which they had not

known before except in thought. But they had become enamoured of the beauty of the vision and engrossed in the

unfolding of the World which came there to being, and their minds were filled with it; for the history was incomplete

and the circles of time not full-wrought when the vision was taken away. And some have said that the vision ceased ere

the fulfilment of the Dominion of Men and the fading of the Firstborn; wherefore, though the Music is over all, the

Valar have not seen as with sight the Later Ages or the ending of the World.

Then there was unrest among the Ainur; but Ilúvatar called to them, and said: 'I know the desire of your minds

that what ye have seen should verily be, not only in your thought, but even as ye yourselves are, and yet other.

Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at

the heart of the World, and the World shall Be; and those of you that will may go down into it. And suddenly the Ainur

saw afar off a light, as it were a cloud with a living heart of flame; and they knew that this was no vision only, but that

Ilúvatar had made a new thing: Eä, the World that Is.

Thus it came to pass that of the Ainur some abode still with Ilúvatar beyond the confines of the World; but

others, and among them many of the greatest and most fair, took the leave of Ilúvatar and descended into it. But this

condition Ilúvatar made, or it is the necessity of their love, that their power should thenceforward be contained and

bounded in the World, to be within it for ever, until it is complete, so that they are its life and it is theirs. And therefore

they are named the Valar, the Powers of the World.

But when the Valar entered into Eä they were at first astounded and at a loss, for it was as if naught was yet

made which they had seen in vision, and all was but on point to begin and yet unshaped, and it was dark. For the Great

Music had been but the growth and flowering of thought in the Tuneless Halls, and the Vision only a foreshowing; but

now they had entered in at the beginning of Time, and the Valar perceived that the World had been but foreshadowed

and foresung, and they must achieve it. So began their great labours in wastes unmeasured and unexplored, and in ages

uncounted and forgotten, until in the Deeps of Time and in the midst of the vast halls of Eä there came to be that hour

and that place where was made the habitation of the Children of Ilúvatar. And in this work the chief part was taken by

Manwë and Aulë and Ulmo; but Melkor too was there from the first, and he meddled in all that was done, turning it if

he might to his own desires and purposes; and he kindled great fires. When therefore Earth was yet young and full of

flame Melkor coveted it, and he said to the other Valar: 'This shall be my own kingdom; and I name it unto myself!'

But Manwë was the brother of Melkor in the mind of Ilúvatar, and he was the chief instrument of the second

theme that Ilúvatar had raised up against the discord of Melkor; and he called unto himself many spirits both greater

and less, and they came down into the fields of Arda and aided Manwë, lest Melkor should hinder the fulfilment of

their labour for ever, and Earth should wither ere it flowered. And Manwë said unto Melkor: 'This kingdom thou shalt

not take for thine own, wrongfully, for many others have laboured here do less than thou.' And there was strife between

Melkor and the other Valar; and for that time Melkor withdrew and departed to other regions and did there what he

would; but he did not put the desire of the Kingdom of Arda from his heart.

Now the Valar took to themselves shape and hue; and because they were drawn into the World by love of the

Children of Ilúvatar, for whom they hoped, they took shape after that manner which they had beheld in the Vision of

Ilúvatar, save only in majesty and splendour. Moreover their shape comes of their knowledge of the visible World,

rather than of the World itself; and they need it not, save only as we use raiment, and yet we may be naked and suffer

no loss of our being. Therefore the Valar may walk, if they will, unclad, and then even the Eldar cannot clearly perceive

them, though they be present. But when they desire to clothe themselves the Valar take upon them forms some as of

male and some as of female; for that difference of temper they had even from their beginning, and it is but bodied forth

in the choice of each, not made by the choice, even as with us male and female may be shown by the raiment but is not

made thereby. But the shapes wherein the Great Ones array themselves are not at all times like to the shapes of the

kings and queens of the Children of Ilúvatar; for at times they may clothe themselves in their own thought, made visible

in forms of majesty and dread.

And the Valar drew unto them many companions, some less, some well nigh as great as themselves, and they

laboured together in the ordering of the Earth and the curbing of its tumults. Then Melkor saw what was done, and that

the Valar walked on Earth as powers visible, clad in the raiment of the World, and were lovely and glorious to see, and

blissful, and that the Earth was becoming as a garden for their delight, for its turmoils were subdued. His envy grew

then the greater within him; and he also took visible form, but because of his mood and the malice that burned in him

that form was dark and terrible. And he descended upon Arda in power and majesty greater than any other of the Valar,

– 6 –

as a mountain that wades in the sea and has its head above the clouds and is clad in ice and crowned with smoke and

fire; and the light of the eyes of Melkor was like a flame that withers with heat and pierces with a deadly cold.

Thus began the first battle of the Valar with Melkor for the dominion of Arda; and of those tumults the Elves

know but little. For what has here been declared is come from the Valar themselves, with whom the Eldalië spoke in the

land of Valinor, and by whom they were instructed; but little would the Valar ever tell of the wars before the coming of

the Elves. Yet it is told among the Eldar that the Valar endeavoured ever, in despite of Melkor, to rule the Earth and to

prepare it for the coming of the Firstborn; and they built lands and Melkor destroyed them; valleys they delved and

Melkor raised them up; mountains they carved and Melkor threw them down; seas they hollowed and Melkor spilled

them; and naught might have peace or come to lasting growth, for as surely as the Valar began a labour so would

Melkor undo it or corrupt it. And yet their labour was not all in vain; and though nowhere and in no work was their will

and purpose wholly fulfilled, and all things were in hue and shape other than the Valar had at first intended, slowly

nonetheless the Earth was fashioned and made firm. And thus was the habitation of the Children of Ilúvatar established

at the last in the Deeps of Time and amidst the innumerable stars.

– 7 –

VALAQUENTA

Account of the Valar and Maiar

according to the lore of the

Eldar

In the beginning Eru, the One, who in the Elvish tongue is named Ilúvatar, made the Ainur of his thought; and they

made a great Music before him. In this Music the World was begun; for Ilúvatar made visible the song of the Ainur, and

they beheld it as a light in the darkness. And many among them became enamoured of its beauty, and of its history

which they saw beginning and unfolding as in a vision. Therefore Ilúvatar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the

Void, and the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the World; and it was called Eä.

Then those of the Ainur who desired it arose and entered into the World at the beginning of Time; and it was

their task to achieve it, and by their labours to fulfil the vision which they had seen. Long they laboured in the regions

of Eä, which are vast beyond the thought of Elves and Men, until in the time appointed was made Arda, the Kingdom

of Earth. Then they put on the raiment of Earth and descended into it, and dwelt therein.

Of the Valar

The Great among these spirits the Elves name the Valar, the Powers of Arda, and Men have often called them gods. The

Lords of the Valar are seven; and the Valier, the Queens of the Valar, are seven also. These were their names in the

Elvish tongue as it was spoken in Valinor, though they have other names in the speech of the Elves in Middle-earth, and

their names among Men are manifold. The names of the Lords in due order are: Manwë, Ulmo, Aulë, Oromë, Mandos,

Lórien, and Tulkas; and the names of the Queens are: Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Estë, Vairë, Vána, and Nessa. Melkor is

counted no longer among the Valar, and his name is not spoken upon Earth.

Manwë and Melkor were brethren in the thought of Ilúvatar. The mightiest of those Ainur who came into the

World was in his beginning Melkor; but Manwë is dearest to Ilúvatar and understands most clearly his purposes. He

was appointed to be, in the fullness of time, the first of all Kings: lord of the realm of Arda and ruler of all that dwell

therein. In Arda his delight is in the winds and the clouds, and in all the regions of the air, from the heights to the

depths, from the utmost borders of the Veil of Arda to the breezes that blow in the grass. Súlimo he is surnamed, Lord

of the Breath of Arda. All swift birds, strong of wing, he loves, and they come and go at his bidding.

With Manwë dwells Varda, Lady of the Stars, who knows all the regions of Eä. Too great is her beauty to be

declared in the words of Men or of Elves; for the light of Ilúvatar lives still in her face. In light is her power and her joy.

Out of the deeps of Eä she came to the aid of Manwë; for Melkor she knew from before the making of the Music and

rejected him, and he hated her, and feared her more than all others whom Eru made. Manwë and Varda are seldom

parted, and they remain in Valinor. Their halls are above the everlasting snow, upon Oiolossë, the uttermost tower of

Taniquetil, tallest of all the mountains upon Earth. When Manwë there ascends his throne and looks forth, if Varda is

beside him, he sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. And

if Manwë is with her, Varda hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west, from

the hills and the valleys, and from the dark places that Melkor has made upon Earth. Of all the Great Ones who dwell in

this world the Elves hold Varda most in reverence and love. Elbereth they name her, and they call upon her name out of

the shadows of Middle-earth, and uplift it in song at the rising of the stars.

Ulmo is the Lord of Waters. He is alone. He dwells nowhere long, but moves as he will in all the deep waters

about the Earth or under the Earth. He is next in might to Manwë, and before Valinor was made he was closest to him in

friendship; but thereafter he went seldom to the councils of the Valar, unless great matters were in debate. For he kept

all Arda in thought, and he has no need of any resting-place. Moreover he does not love to walk upon land, and will

seldom clothe himself in a body after the manner of his peers. If the Children of Eru beheld him they were filled with a

great dread; for the arising of the King of the Sea was terrible, as a mounting wave that strides to the land, with dark

helm foam-crested and raiment of mail shimmering from silver down into shadows of green. The trumpets of Manwë

are loud, but Ulmo's voice is deep as the deeps of the ocean which he only has seen.

Nonetheless Ulmo loves both Elves and Men, and never abandoned them, not even when they lay under the

wrath of the Valar. At times he win come unseen to the shores of Middle-earth, or pass far inland up firths of the sea,

and there make music upon his great horns, the Ulumúri, that are wrought of white shell; and those to whom that music

comes hear it ever after in their hearts, and longing for the sea never leaves them again. But mostly Ulmo speaks to

those who dwell in Middle-earth with voices that are heard only as the music of water. For all seas, lakes, rivers,

fountains and springs are in his government; so that the Elves say that the spirit of Ulmo runs in all the veins of the

world. Thus news comes to Ulmo, even in the deeps, of all the needs and griefs of Arda, which otherwise would be

hidden from Manwë.

– 8 –

Aulë has might little less than Ulmo. His lordship is over all the substances of which Arda is made. In the

beginning he wrought much in fellowship with Manwë and Ulmo; and the fashioning of all lands was his labour. He is

a smith and a master of all crafts, and he delights in works of skill, however small, as much as in the mighty building of

old. His are the gems that lie deep in the Earth and the gold that is fair in the hand, no less than the walls of the

mountains and the basins of the sea. The Noldor learned most of him, and he was ever their friend. Melkor was jealous

of him, for Aulë was most like himself in thought and in powers; and there was long strife between them, in which

Melkor ever marred or undid the works of Aulë, and Aulë grew weary in repairing the tumults and disorders of Melkor.

Both, also, desired to make things of their own that should be new and unthought of by others, and delighted in the

praise of their skill. But Aulë remained faithful to Eru and submitted all that he did to his will; and he did not envy the

works of others, but sought and gave counsel. Whereas Melkor spent his spirit in envy and hate, until at last he could

make nothing save in mockery of the thought of others, and all their works he destroyed if he could.

The spouse of Aulë is Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits. She is the lover of all things that grow in the earth, and all

their countless forms she holds in her mind, from the trees like towers in forests long ago to the moss upon stones or the

small and secret things in the mould. In reverence Yavanna is next to Varda among the Queens of the Valar. In the form

of a woman she is tall, and robed in green; but at times she takes other shapes. Some there are who have seen her

standing like a tree under heaven, crowned with the Sun; and from all its branches there spilled a golden dew upon the

barren earth, and it grew green with corn; but the roots of the tree were in the waters of Ulmo, and the winds of Manwë

spoke in its leaves. Kementári, Queen of the Earth, she is surnamed in the Eldarin tongue.

The Fëanturi, masters of spirits, are brethren, and they are called most often Mandos and Lórien. Yet these are

rightly the names of the places of their dwelling, and their true names are Námo and Irmo.

Námo the elder dwells in Mandos, which is westward in Valinor. He is the keeper of the Houses of the Dead,

and the summoner of the spirits of the slain. He forgets nothing; and he knows all things that shall be, save only those

that lie still in the freedom of Ilúvatar. He is the Doomsman of the Valar; but he pronounces his dooms and his

Judgements only at the bidding of Manwë. Vairë the Weaver is his spouse, who weaves all things that have ever been in

Time into her storied webs, and the halls of Mandos that ever widen as the ages pass are clothed with them.

Irmo the younger is the master of visions and dreams. In Lórien are his gardens in the land of the Valar, and they

are the fairest of all places in the world, filled with many spirits. Estë the gentle, healer of hurts and of weariness, is his

spouse. Grey is her raiment; and rest is her gift. She walks not by day, but sleeps upon an island in the tree-shadowed

lake of Lórellin. From the fountains of Irmo and Estë all those who dwell in Valinor draw refreshment; and often the

Valar come themselves to Lórien and there find repose and easing of the burden of Arda.

Mightier than Estë is Nienna, sister of the Fëanturi; she dwells alone. She is acquainted with grief, and mourns

for every wound that Arda has suffered in the marring of Melkor. So great was her sorrow, as the Music unfolded, that

her song turned to lamentation long before its end, and the sound of mourning was woven into the themes of the World

before it began. But she does not weep for herself; and those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope. Her

halls are west of West, upon the borders of the world; and she comes seldom to the city of Valimar where all is glad.

She goes rather to the halls of Mandos, which are near to her own; and all those who wait in Mandos cry to her, for she

brings strength to the spirit and turns sorrow to wisdom. The windows of her house look outward from the walls of the

world.

Greatest in strength and deeds of prowess is Tulkas, who is surnamed Astaldo, the Valiant. He came last to Arda,

to aid the Valar in the first battles with Melkor. He delights in wrestling and in contests of strength; and he rides no

steed, for he can outrun all things that go on feet, and he is tireless. His hair and beard are golden, and his flesh ruddy;

his weapons are his hands. He has little heed for either the past or the future, and is of no avail as a counsellor, but is a

hardy friend. His spouse is Nessa, the sister of Oromë, and she also is lithe and fleetfooted. Deer she loves, and they

follow her train whenever she goes in the wild; but she can outrun them, swift as an arrow with the wind in her hair. In

dancing she delights, and she dances in Valimar on lawns of never-fading green.

Oromë is a mighty lord. If he is less strong than Tulkas, he is more dreadful in anger; whereas Tulkas laughs

ever, in sport or in war, and even in the face of Melkor he laughed in battles before the Elves were born. Oromë loved

the lands of Middle-earth, and he left them unwillingly and came last to Valinor; and often of old he passed back east

over the mountains and returned with his host to the hills and the plains. He is a hunter of monsters and fell beasts, and

he delights in horses and in hounds; and all trees he loves, for which reason he is called Aldaron, and by the Sindar

Tauron, the Lord of Forests. Nahar is the name of his horse, white in the sun, and shining silver at night. The Valaróma

is the name of his great horn, the sound of which is like the upgoing of the Sun in scarlet, or the sheer lightning

cleaving the clouds. Above all the horns of his host it was heard in the woods that Yavanna brought forth in Valinor; for

there Oromë would train his folk and his beasts for the pursuit of the evil creatures of. Melkor. The spouse of Oromë is

Vána, the Ever-young; she is the younger sister of Yavanna. All flowers spring as she passes and open if she glances

upon them; and all birds sing at her coming.

These are the names of the Valar and the Valier, and here is told in brief their likenesses, such as the Eldar

beheld them in Aman. But fair and noble as were the forms in which they were manifest to the Children of Ilúvatar,

– 9 –

they were but a veil upon their beauty and their power. And if little is here said of all that the Eldar once knew, that is as

nothing compared with their true being, which goes back into regions and ages far beyond our thought. Among them

Nine were of chief power and reverence; but one is removed from their number, and Eight remain, the Aratar, the High

Ones of Arda: Manwë and Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna and Aulë, Mandos, Nienna, and Oromë. Though Manwë is their King

and holds their allegiance under Eru, in majesty they are peers, surpassing beyond compare all others, whether of the

Valar and the Maiar, or of any other order that Ilúvatar has sent into Eä.

Of the Maiar

With the Valar came other spirits whose being also began before the World, of the same order as the Valar but of less

degree. These are the Maiar, the people of the Valar, and their servants and helpers. Their number is not known to the

Elves, and few have names in any of the tongues of the Children of Ilúvatar; for though it is otherwise in Aman, in

Middle-earth the Maiar have seldom appeared in form visible to Elves and Men.

Chief among the Maiar of Valinor whose names are remembered in the histories of the Elder Days are Ilmarë,

the handmaid of Varda, and Eönwë, the banner-bearer and herald of Manwë, whose might in arms is surpassed by none

in Arda. But of all the Maiar Ossë and Uinen are best known to the Children of Ilúvatar.

Ossë is a vassal of Ulmo, and he is master of the seas that wash the shores of Middle-earth. He does not go in

the deeps, but loves the coasts and the isles, and rejoices in the winds of Manwë; for in storm he delights, and laughs

amid the roaring of the waves. His spouse is Uinen, the Lady of the Seas, whose hair lies spread through all waters

under sky. All creatures she loves that live in the salt streams, and all weeds that grow there; to her mariners cry, for she

can lay calm upon the waves, restraining the wildness of Ossë. The Númenóreans lived long in her protection, and held

her in reverence equal to the Valar.

Melkor hated the Sea, for he could not subdue it. It is said that in the making of Arda he endeavoured to draw

Ossë to his allegiance, promising to him all the realm and power of Ulmo, if he would serve him. So it was that long

ago there arose great tumults in the sea that wrought ruin to the lands. But Uinen, at the prayer of Aulë, restrained Ossë

and brought him before Ulmo; and he was pardoned and returned to his allegiance, to which he has remained faithful.

For the most part; for the delight in violence has never wholly departed from him, and at times he will rage in his

wilfulness without any command from Ulmo his lord. Therefore those who dwell by the sea or go up in ships may love

him, but they do not trust him.

Melian was the name of a Maia who served both Vána and Estë; she dwelt long in Lórien, tending the trees that

flower in the gardens of Irmo, ere she came to Middle-earth. Nightingales sang about her wherever she went.

Wisest of the Maiar was Olórin. He too dwelt in Lórien, but his ways took him often to the house of Nienna, and

of her he learned pity and patience.

Of Melian much is told in the Quenta Silmarillion. But of Olórin that tale does not speak; for though he loved

the Elves, he walked among them unseen, or in form as one of them, and they did not know whence came the fair

visions or the promptings of wisdom that he put into their hearts. In later days he was the friend of all the Children of

Ilúvatar, and took pity on their sorrows; and those who listened to him awoke from despair and put away the

imaginations of darkness.

Of the Enemies

Last of all is set the name of Melkor, He who arises in Might. But that name he has forfeited; and the Noldor, who

among the Elves suffered most from his malice, will not utter it, and they name him Morgoth, the Dark Enemy of the

World. Great might was given to him by Ilúvatar, and he was coeval with Manwë. In the powers and knowledge of all

the other Valar he had part, but he turned them to evil purposes, and squandered his strength in violence and tyranny.

For he coveted Arda and all that was in it, desiring the kingship of Manwë and dominion over the realms of his peers.

From splendour he fell through arrogance to contempt for all things save himself, a spirit wasteful and pitiless.

Understanding he turned to subtlety in perverting to his own will all that he would use, until he became a liar without

shame. He began with the desire of Light, but when he could not possess it for himself alone, he descended through fire

and wrath into a great burning, down into Darkness. And darkness he used most in his evil works upon Arda, and filled

it with fear for all living things.

Yet so great was the power of his uprising that in ages forgotten he contended with Manwë and all the Valar, and

through long years in Arda held dominion over most of the lands of the Earth. But he was not alone. For of the Maiar

many were drawn to his splendour in the days of his greatness, and remained in that allegiance down into his darkness;

and others he corrupted afterwards to his service with lies and treacherous gifts. Dreadful among these spirits were the

Valaraukar, the scourges of fire that in Middle-earth were called the Balrogs, demons of terror.

Among those of his servants that have names the greatest was that spirit whom the Eldar called Sauron, or

Gorthaur the Cruel. In his beginning he was of the Maiar of Aulë, and he remained mighty in the lore of that people. In

all the deeds of Melkor the Morgoth upon Arda, in his vast works and in the deceits of his cunning, Sauron had a part,

– 10 –

and was only less evil than his master in that for long he served another and not himself. But in after years he rose like a

shadow of Morgoth and a ghost of his malice, and walked behind him on the same ruinous path down into the Void.

HERE ENDS THE VALAQUENTA

文档加载中……请稍候！
如果长时间未打开，您也可以点击刷新试试。

下载文档到电脑，查找使用更方便

5.9 玖币 0人已下载

立即下载 VIP免费下载

摘要：

iFOREWORDTheSilmarillion,nowpublishedfouryearsafterthedeathofitsauthor,isanaccountoftheElderDays,ortheFirstAgeoftheWorld.InTheLordoftheRingswerenarratedthegreateventsattheendoftheThirdAge;butthetalesofTheSilmarillionarelegendsderivingfromamuchdeeperpast,whenMorgoth,thefirstDarkLord,dweltinMiddle-ear...

展开>> 收起<<

J.R.R. Tolkien - Silmarillion.pdf

共165页,预览10页

还剩页未读，继续阅读

声明：本站为文档C2C交易模式，即用户上传的文档直接被用户下载，本站只是中间服务平台，本站所有文档下载所得的收益归上传人(含作者)所有。玖贝云文库仅提供信息存储空间，仅对用户上传内容的表现方式做保护处理，对上载内容本身不做任何修改或编辑。若文档所含内容侵犯了您的版权或隐私，请立即通知玖贝云文库，我们立即给予删除！

J.R.R. Tolkien - Silmarillion

相关推荐

开通VIP享超值会员特权

作者详情

相关内容

热门标签

举报选择: