# Question



## Celebthôl (Oct 3, 2002)

The doom of man is a gift from Iluvatar right! so y the hell are people scared to die if its a gift from the like big cheese? and what path would you take Elvish or man? i would take man coz of the gift of men plus you get to live for like 300 odd years n e way enough time to bore of the world

Jiff


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## JanitorofAngmar (Oct 3, 2002)

Pretty crappy gift if you ask me.

What's for Christmas? A kick in the crotch?

Next time I step on a bug I'll just say to myself "Happy Birthday Bug!" and feel good about it.

JoA

Good thing everyone is not that friendly or we'd all be walking around chopping each other's heads off. "Oh hey buddy haven't seen you in ages! Here. Here's a gift for you" **HACK! - Uuuhhhh.**


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## gate7ole (Oct 3, 2002)

Mmm, seriously, the gift of Illuvatar to men was not just death.
It was their independence from the earth. They are not confined by earth, when they die they go elsewhere and most important, they have the ability to surpass their destiny and determine their future by their deeds. While the elves were not. E.g. the curse of Mandos which they could not change. Surely the elves could change their future too, according to thei actions, but they were mostly confined to the bounds of earth. They were attached to it, sorrowed more often, while Men were able to dream.
I would choose to be a man, because I wouldn't want to be confined to earth, but hoped for a better place, anywhere the creator has appointed. I would like to drive my own destiny and not be driven by it.
This is by the way what christianism claims.


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## Lantarion (Oct 4, 2002)

And it truly is a 'gift': the wrapper isn't even off until you croak!
What I mean is that the Gift of Men, which is a paradisal realm detached from Arda to where Men go after they are dead, is completely unknown to the Men themselves until they arrive there. So they spend their whole lives (many of them anyway) searching for life-extending medecine (Cf. the Númenóreans) or cursing and fearing Death; simply because of their fear of the unknwon, which we have inhereted from them btw..


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## Ceorl (Oct 5, 2002)

Men always fear that which they do not comprehend. At what stage were the men actually told that them dying was a gift? Long before they had even been given a whiff of that theory Morgoth had found them and he darkened the hearts of men, and twisted their gift, so that it came to be known as the Doom of Men. He turned that which is good and pure into phantoms of fear and delusion. Everafter men have feared death and darkness. It was only the Dunedain that were given extended life, so not nearly all men lived long. In fact 300 years was a long life even for the Dunedain(Elros himself lived for about 400 years). Aragorn lived for 210 I think(off the top of my head, could be wrong), and that was incredibly long for any men of any age.


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## Celebthôl (Oct 7, 2002)

yeah i spoz ur right


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## Ingolmin (Jan 7, 2017)

Actually not all men had a long life. Only the Edain who lived in Numenor in the Second Age had it. Also these men of Westernesse did not get bored because they had a lot to do, development in Numenor itself, engaging in sensual pleasures, enjoying riches, making ships, discovering lands, making ports etc. They enjoyed their life so much that they wanted to live even a greater life and started envying the Eldar which brought fear of death in their hearts. Death was a gift to men by which they could go beyond the circles of the world but during the wars of Melkor and later when Westernesse's knowledge diminished during the reign of kings like Tar Atanamir, Ar Adunakhor, Ar Pharazon etc. it became a doom for them but many of Faithful which were not affected by the darkness still had a long life and they did not fail in their duty, these were the Lords of Andunie, always devoted servants of the Valar.


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