Count, Count, Weigh, Divide - Page 5
© Michael Martinez
Middle-earth doesn't require a meddlesome God, except in that he will ensure his plan is the one which plays out. That is to say, Tolkien's omens don't have to come from God because they do not relieve men of responsibility. Aragorn's warning to Gandalf was not an ill omen such as might be extended to a leader about to lead his army into disaster. Aragorn's warning was a personal message to Gandalf: Beware! You will pay a price for that passage greater than you expect.
The ill omens associated with Saruman's flocks of birds are not omens born from the will of a god, but rather are the portents which are inherent in the actions taken by Saruman. Anyone who parks an army on your border probably intends to invade, or at least to stir up some sort of trouble. It's a bad sign when the neighbors' troops begin taking lessons in Basic Rohirric. But it's not a sign from God.
And yet, it is not men who are acting irresponsibly in Middle-earth. There are men who diverge from the right path. In fact, many do so, including Bill Ferny, Grima Wormtongue, Denethor, Boromir, and others. They choose to behave in a morally irresponsible fashion, and only Boromir is missed, because in his case his fall was driven by the lure of the One Ring. Who mourns for the servants of Denethor whom Beregond slays or wounds? Instead of doing the right thing, they elect to continuing serving their obviously insane lord. Nonetheless, there are no prophets to call these wayward children back to Iluvatar.
The signs, such as are given at all, are given to Saruman and Sauron, and to Gandalf. It is necessary in the mythic time of Middle-earth to assert the greatest prerogatives to the angelic beings who are gradually withdrawing from Middle-earth, either through death or departure. Hence, when Gandalf and the Balrog confront each other in Moria, Gandalf warns the Balrog that he is no mere man: "I am a servant of the Secret Fire", he says. The Silmarillion tells us that the Secret Fire is the Flame Imperishable, which is with Iluvatar. Gandalf serves the Holy Spirit of God himself. The Balrog should know from past experience that opposing the good guys is not in its best interests.
Gandalf was the Balrog's writing on the wall. In a way, Aragorn's prescient feeling that something might happen to Gandalf was Gandalf's writing on the wall. And it's not that Gandalf was weighed in the balance and found wanting, so much, as that he was being asked to make a hard choice. And Gandalf made the correct choice, but in doing so he had to abandon the Valar's plan. It was the Valar's plan which was flawed, not Gandalf, and Iluvatar needed to make some changes. Gandalf therefore went willingly to the sacrifice, as he had been forewarned.
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