I was grumbling to myself about having nothing to read – a rather unacceptable complaint, considering the number of books we have on our bookshelves. (Which collection I glance at as I type this, feeling very proud of my ability to continue typing while doing so and make NO mistakes!) But then I remembered a little blue book – not kept down here with the rest, as it is of my own possession – and I realized it had been at least six months since I last read it. I decided it was time to pick it up once more, for the sake of both my reading and my writing.
Tree and Leaf by J.R.R. Tolkien. *sighs happily* I love this book so. For those who aren’t aware, it contains two works: “On Fairy-Stories”, and “Leaf by Niggle” – both incredible writings that hold much wisdom for us as writers. I bought this particular copy online, because it’s out of print. It was, in fact, very difficult to obtain (omw, can you tell by my tone I’m reading Tolkien?!) … and it was only AFTER receiving it in the mail I was informed both these works were included in another, much more available book - The Lost Road and other Stories. (Other Tales?)
Anyway. I wanted to share a page with you. I think you’ll like it. :) He’s exploring the origin of fairy-stories, and how it is related to the origin of language itself.
“…But Language cannot, all the same, be dismissed. The incarnate mind, the tongue, and the tales are in our world coeval. The human mind, endowed with the powers of generalization and abstraction, sees not only green-grass, discriminating it from other things (and finding it fair to look upon), but sees that it is green as well as being grass. But how powerful, how stimulating to the very faculty that produced it, was the invention of the adjective: no spell or incantation in Faerie is more potent. …The mind that thought of light, heavy, grey, yellow, still, swift, also conceivedof magic that would make heavy things light and able to fly, turn grey lead into yellow gold, and the still rock into a swift water. If it could do the one, it could do the other; it inevitably did both. When we can take green from grass, blue from heaven, and red from blood, we have already and enchanter’s power – upon one plane; and the desire to wield that power in the world external to our minds awakes. It does not follow that we shall use that power well upon any plane. We may put a deadly green upon a man’s face and produce a horror; we may make the rare and terrible blue moon to shine; or we may cause woods to spring with silver leaves and rams to wear fleeces of gold, and put hot fire into the belly of the cold worm. But in such “fantasy”, as it is called, new form is made: Faerie begins; Man becomes a sub-creator.”
Sub-creation!!!!! *dances in sheer excitement* Sub-creation! Sub-creation! We are all sub-creators! Isn’t it so exciting??
Tree and Leaf by J.R.R. Tolkien. *sighs happily* I love this book so. For those who aren’t aware, it contains two works: “On Fairy-Stories”, and “Leaf by Niggle” – both incredible writings that hold much wisdom for us as writers. I bought this particular copy online, because it’s out of print. It was, in fact, very difficult to obtain (omw, can you tell by my tone I’m reading Tolkien?!) … and it was only AFTER receiving it in the mail I was informed both these works were included in another, much more available book - The Lost Road and other Stories. (Other Tales?)
Anyway. I wanted to share a page with you. I think you’ll like it. :) He’s exploring the origin of fairy-stories, and how it is related to the origin of language itself.
“…But Language cannot, all the same, be dismissed. The incarnate mind, the tongue, and the tales are in our world coeval. The human mind, endowed with the powers of generalization and abstraction, sees not only green-grass, discriminating it from other things (and finding it fair to look upon), but sees that it is green as well as being grass. But how powerful, how stimulating to the very faculty that produced it, was the invention of the adjective: no spell or incantation in Faerie is more potent. …The mind that thought of light, heavy, grey, yellow, still, swift, also conceivedof magic that would make heavy things light and able to fly, turn grey lead into yellow gold, and the still rock into a swift water. If it could do the one, it could do the other; it inevitably did both. When we can take green from grass, blue from heaven, and red from blood, we have already and enchanter’s power – upon one plane; and the desire to wield that power in the world external to our minds awakes. It does not follow that we shall use that power well upon any plane. We may put a deadly green upon a man’s face and produce a horror; we may make the rare and terrible blue moon to shine; or we may cause woods to spring with silver leaves and rams to wear fleeces of gold, and put hot fire into the belly of the cold worm. But in such “fantasy”, as it is called, new form is made: Faerie begins; Man becomes a sub-creator.”
Sub-creation!!!!! *dances in sheer excitement* Sub-creation! Sub-creation! We are all sub-creators! Isn’t it so exciting??
posted by Rosemary | 12:56 PM
4 Comments:
What an incredible quote by the most revered Tolkien. I want to cpoy it and hang it on my door!!! HOW does he do it?!
'Leaf By Niggle'- an amazing story that hit deep with me, and made me really quiet and thoughtful.
I love that story. :-) We have it in the book Tales From the Perilous Realm, which was equally difficult to find--in fact (this was in the days before we had internet), we couldn't find it in the U.S. My uncle brought us back a copy when he was at Wimbledon. (It actually turned out that that was the last time he ever went to Wimbledon, because he hurt a muscle while playing there, badly, and now he can no longer play professionally.)
But I love that story!! It's one of my favorites in the book (Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Leaf by Niggle, Smith of Wootton Major). I think I like it because of it's subcreator theme...sort of like Aule and the dwarves in the Silmarillion. I think that's one of the ways we were created "in the image of God"--we share His creative abilities, although in a lesser degree, of course.
Yes! I loved that story. My first exposure to it was in Carpenter's bio of Tolkien, at the very end of the book. The fans in the US had a memorial ceremony for JRR after his death, and read an excerpt from that - the bit about Niggle seeing the tree, spreading out his hands, and declaring: "It is a gift!"
And this gift didn't end upon his death. Our gifts don't - they are part of who God created us.
It was just awesome, because Liz and I had been talking about how sad it was he didn't live to see the Silmarillion - his life work - published. And it was so ... perfect.
I cried. :)
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