"But of those unhappy ones who were ensnared by Melkor little is known of a certainty. For who of the lving has descended into the pits of Utumno, or has explored the darkness of the counsels of Melkor? Yet it is held true by the wise of Eressea, that all those of the Quendi who came into the hands of Melkor, ere Utumno was broken, were put there in prison, and by slow arts of cruelty were corrupted and enslaved; and thus did Melkor breed the hideous of the Orcs in envy and mockery of the Elves, of whom they were afterwards the bitterest foes."
The Silmarillion Page 58
"...and among them were the Orcs, who afterwards wrought ruin in Beleriand: but they were yet few and wary, and did but smell out the ways of the land, awaiting the return of their lord. Whence they came, or what they were, the Elves knew not then, thinking them perhaps to be Avari who had become evil and savage in the wild; in which they guessed all too near, it is said."
The Silmarillion Page 110
"...all to near..."
"...orcs are not Elves."
"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;..."
The Silmarillion Foreword Page 7
"...underwent relatively little radical change;..."
...little is known of a certainty...
...the Elves knew not...
"But of those unhappy ones who were ensnared by Melkor little is known of a certainty. For who of the lving has descended into the pits of Utumno, or has explored the darkness of the counsels of Melkor? Yet it is held true by the wise of Eressea, that all those of the Quendi who came into the hands of Melkor, ere Utumno was broken, were put there in prison, and by slow arts of cruelty were corrupted and enslaved; and thus did Melkor breed the hideous of the Orcs in envy and mockery of the Elves, of whom they were afterwards the bitterest foes."
So there is no one who can say what happened in the depths of Utumno, so we cannot rely on any reports being true.But of those unhappy ones who were ensnared by Melkor little is known of a certainty. For who of the lving has descended into the pits of Utumno, or has explored the darkness of the counsels of Melkor?
This is the opinion of Elves who never went to Utumno and knew nothing of the works of Mekor in respect of the Orcs, they could only guess what had happened.Yet it is held true by the wise of Eressea
But you missed out the last part of the Quote,"...all to near..."
So even this does not prove anything as it is once again only the opinion of some who guess from insufficient information.it is said
Originally posted by Gothmog
There is nothing in the Silmarillion that states for certain that the Orcs were created from Elves. The quotes you find in there leave the question open.
Originally posted by Ulairi
So, was their guess close to the truth, were Orcs really the Elves?
Originally posted by Gothmog
in this quote you use what you must look at is the way the information is given. Tolkien wrote this in such a way as not to give certain answers.
Originally posted by Gothmog
So there is no one who can say what happened in the depths of Utumno, so we cannot rely on any reports being true.
Originally posted by Gothmog
This is the opinion of Elves who never went to Utumno and knew nothing of the works of Mekor in respect of the Orcs, they could only guess what had happened.
Originally posted by Gothmog
But you missed out the last part of the Quote,
"...it is said."
"To read between the lines."
Originally posted by Gothmog
The Loopholes were not there to avoid contradiction but to leave open a question that Tolkien himself had not made a final decision about.
Originally posted by Rangerdave
This is one of those loaded statements that fill academics with a sense of rapture and students with a sense of dread.
Originally posted by Rangerdave
Orcs were not Elves, very good so far.
Originally posted by Rangerdave
Anyone who looked at an orc could tell right away that it was an orc. If it walks like an orc, talks like an orc, and chews it's own toenails like an orc: it must be an orc.
Originally posted by Rangerdave
But that does not mean that orc's were not "bred from elves".
"...and thus did Melkor breed the hideous race of Orcs..."
Originally posted by Ulairi "...a logical solution..."
Yes, Tolkien did draw the conclusion in The Annals of Aman that Orcs were not Elves, but no Tolkien Scholar has disregarded The Silmarillion as one of Tolkien's most serious pieces of work. Post-The Annals of Aman time, Tolkien may still have been contemplating on the idea, and here's your proof. The Annals of Aman were published before The Silmarillion, not after. So, why would Tolkien disregard an idea in one book that he published and publish the fact that is was true later (via his son) in The Silmarillion?
Originally posted by Gothmog
Ulairi, If you comprehended as much as you think you do you would realise that I was answering your question stating that there is no definate answer.
Originally posted by Gothmog
So you may theorise as much as you like and come to an answer that seems good to you but it will only be your opinion.
Originally posted by Gothmog
...there is no definate answer.
"...little is known for a certainty..."
Originally posted by Gothmog
But since you obviously do not wish to have the answers I give I will in future refrain from cluttering your threads with my obviously inane chatter.
Originally posted by Tar-Elenion
JRRT never published the Annals of Aman, nor were they published before The Silmarillion. The Annals of Aman were not published until 1993. They were written ca. 1951; the 'alter this Orcs are not Elvish' was not part of the Annals, but a later addition to the typescript (ca. 1958).
You're welcome.Originally posted by Ulairi
Thankyou for that Tar-Elenion.
Cian is a _HE_, not a she. Where is this debate taking place?In the debate I was having with Cian she mentioned the book,
The 'Annals of Aman' is not a book. It is rather an extended 'Tale of Years' (JRRT was rewritting and updating the 'Annals of Valinor' found in HoME 5). CRT drew from this, in part, when preparing The Silmarillion(which was incomplete) for publication. The 'Annals of Aman' were published in Morgoth's Ring (HoME 10).but not when it was published and I jumped to false conclusions, and I apologise. I have heard of nor have read the book myslef.
If this query is directed at me, the best I can say is that JRRT never came to a firm conclusion on this matter. CRT presents various of his father's essays on the origin of Orcs in Morgoth's Ring (HoME 10). In these various essays JRRT speculates that Orcs are variously 'descended' from corrupted beasts (animals) or Men or Elves or Maiar or a mixture of some or all of these. Again he never seems to have come to a firm conclusion as to their origin. The one I prefer has Orcs primarily coming from Elves and later Men, with a Maiarin strain accounting for some of the greater Orc Captains (sometimes known as 'Boldogs').However, despite it was an addition to the book, the argument on the 'Origins of Orcs' not being Elvish still stand. So, back to my previous question. Were Orcs really Elves? In The Annals of Aman it says they were not, but in The Silmarillionm it says that they were. So, what is the correct answer?
This then, as it may appear, was my father's final view of the question: Orcs were bred from Men, and if 'the conception in mind of the Orcs may go far back into the night of Melkor's thought' it was Sauron who, during the ages of Melkor's captivity in Aman, brought into being the black armies that were available to his Master when he returned.
But, as always, it is not quite so simple. Accompanying one copy of the typescript of this essay are some pages in manuscript for which my father used the blank reverse sides of papers provided by the publishers dated 10 November 1969. These pages carry two notes on the 'Orcs' essay: one, discussing the spelling of the word Orc, is given on p. 422; the other is a note arising from something in the essay which is not indicated, but which is obviously the passage on p. 417 discussing the puppet-like nature inevitable in creatures brought into being by one of the great Powers themselves: the note was intended to stand in relation to the words 'But the Orcs were not of this kind'.
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