"Many today will endure suffering if it will ensure them a rich reward or gain them fame…Aragorn is willing to die…willing not only to sacrifice himself, but to do so without thanks or recognition. At the very end of the epic, Frodo too comes to this realization, that those who suffer and sacrifice often reap no direct reward, at least in this life, for their labors… Here Frodo comes closest to the courage shown by Christ Himself, when He laid down His life for those who mocked and rejected Him. TRUE COURAGE IS NOT SO MUCH ABOUT SELF-GLORIFICATION AS IT IS ABOUT SELF-EMPTYING: being willing to be the bridge over which others may cross to safety…Like Christ, Frodo and Aragorn have a firm sense of the higher mission that has been bequeathed them, and it empowers them with the strength to endure. THEIRS IS A FORTITUDE WE COULD USE FAR MORE OF TODAY." --Louis Markos, On The Shoulder of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis; Part Two – The Classical Virtues; Chapter Five – The Courage to Endure; “Pressing On To Mordor”
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 08:27:52 +0000
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