And Melkor, who is sometim,es identified as Melek…I dont know how much of middle Eastern theology JRRT was familiar with but me must have known that Melek taos is a good guy!

(and its interesting to read the creation myth associated with Melek taos…)

JRRT in his letters doesnt come down on the side of Smeagol very well, does he?

Exactly the point I made to the fellow who commented on the Refuge, and even more strongly to an argumentative type (not that I am innocent of such ;^)) through reddit.com.

Funnily enough, when I first read the Silm and began to understand it, one of the first things I noticed was how the bad guys were always associated, in their pasts, with Aule. At the time, I didn’t yet comprehend the possible meaning of that, but it is glaringly obvious, I think, and one place where JRRT allowed himself to indulge in moral dualism.

It was in my re-reading of The Silmarillion that the dualism slapped me in the face because otherwise, characters were more nuanced. Needless to say, it rankled but it launched my foray into fan fic rather than screed after screed about villification of scientists and engineers smiths.

One of the reasons I love the Lay of Leithian is because it shows all the characters — good and bad — in a more human, nuanced light. I love Melkor kvetching to Luthien about the gods lazing about while he and his minions work so hard. :^D

You know I agree with you on the science/tech angle. As for the “good smiths” … well, we hear about Mahtan, who is identified just as strongly (or maybe more so, taking into account works like The Shibboleth of Feanor) for his loyalty to Aule and the Valar as he is for his talent as a craftsman. Surely, these “good smiths” did exist, but JRRT’s choice not to show them is what is significant … or to show them only when their identity as a craftsman is equal or trumped by their sycophancy to the Valar. (No bias in that language, no way, no how! )

Funnily enough, when I first read the Silm and began to understand it, one of the first things I noticed was how the bad guys were always associated, in their pasts, with Aule. At the time, I didn’t yet comprehend the possible meaning of that, but it is glaringly obvious, I think, and one place where JRRT allowed himself to indulge in moral dualism.

At face value, the Lord of the Rings might seem to present a good-bad dichotomy, but beneath the radar, there are nuanced shades of grey which you have delineated. These are more evident in The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, and even more so in the HoMe.

However, his take on the more capable technology types still stings and presents a more clearly drawn viewpoint to my mind: delve too deep into knowledge and one risks a great fall. When I posted my screed on this two years (!) ago, a commenter noted that “we just didn’t hear about the good smiths.” Right.

Speaking as an adherent of reductionist materialism and possessive of my knowledge (patents and such) and thus of the devil’s own party according to Tolkien, I’m really not the one to ask about a middle ground here. ;^)