the fellowship of the ring-第2章

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proved。　Themost　critical　reader　of　all；　myself；　now　finds　many　defects；　minor　and　major；　
but　being　fortunately　under　no　obligation　either　to　review　the　book　or　towrite　it　again；　he　will　pass　over　these　in　silence；　except　one　that　has　beennoted　by　others：　the　book　is　too　short。　
As　for　any　inner　meaning　or　'message'；　it　has　in　the　intention　of　theauthor　none。　It　is　neither　allegorical　nor　topical。　As　the　story　grew　it　putdown　roots　（into　the　past）　and　threw　out　unexpected　branches：　but　its　maintheme　was　settled　from　the　outset　by　the　inevitable　choice　of　the　Ring　as　thelink　between　it　and　_The　Hobbit。_　The　crucial　chapter；　〃The　Shadow　of　thePast'；　is　one　of　the　oldest　parts　of　the　tale。　It　was　written　long　before　theforeshadow　of　1939　had　yet　bee　a　threat　of　inevitable　disaster；　and　fromthat　point　the　story　would　have　developed　along　essentially　the　same　lines；　ifthat　disaster　had　been　averted。　Its　sources　are　things　long　before　in　mind；　orin　some　cases　already　written；　and　little　or　nothing　in　it　was　modified　by　thewar　that　began　in　1939　or　its　sequels。　
The　real　war　does　not　resemble　the　legendary　war　in　its　process　or　itsconclusion。　If　it　had　inspired　or　directed　the　development　of　the　legend；　thencertainly　the　Ring　would　have　been　seized　and　used　against　Sauron；　he　wouldnot　have　been　annihilated　but　enslaved；　and　Barad…d。r　would　not　have　beendestroyed　but　occupied。　Saruman；　failing　to　get　possession　of　the　Ring；　wouldm　the　confusion　and　treacheries　of　the　time　have　found　in　Mordor　the　missinglinks　in　his　own　researches　into　Ring…lore；　and　before　long　he　would　have　madea　Great　Ring　of　his　own　with　which　to　challenge　the　self…styled　Ruler　ofMiddle…earth。　In　that　conflict　both　sides　would　have　held　hobbits　in　hatred　　
and　contempt：　they　would　not　long　have　survived　even　as　slaves。　
Other　arrangements　could　be　devised　according　to　the　tastes　or　views　ofthose　who　like　allegory　or　topical　reference。　But　I　cordially　dislike　allegoryin　all　its　manifestations；　and　always　have　done　so　since　I　grew　old　and　waryenough　to　detect　its　presence。　I　much　prefer　history；　true　or　feigned；　withits　varied　applicability　to　the　thought　and　experience　of　readers。　I　thinkthat　many　confuse　'applicability'　with　'allegory'；　but　the　one　resides　in　thefreedom　of　the　reader；　and　the　other　in　the　purposed　domination　of　the　author。　
An　author　cannot　of　course　remain　wholly　unaffected　by　his　experience；　
but　the　ways　in　which　a　story…germ　uses　the　soil　of　experience　are　extremelyplex；　and　attempts　to　define　the　process　are　at　best　guesses　from　evidencethat　is　inadequate　and　ambiguous。　It　is　also　false；　though　naturallyattractive；　when　the　lives　of　an　author　and　critic　have　overlapped；　to　supposethat　the　movements　of　thought　or　the　events　of　times　mon　to　both　werenecessarily　the　most　powerful　influences。　One　has　indeed　personally　to　eunder　the　shadow　of　war　to　feel　fully　its　oppression；　but　as　the　years　go　byit　seems　now　often　forgotten　that　to　be　caught　in　youth　by　1914　was　no　lesshideous　an　experience　than　to　be　involved　in　1939　and　the　following　years。　By1918　all　but　one　of　my　close　friends　were　dead。　Or　to　take　a　less　grievousmatter：　it　has　been　supposed　by　some　that　'The　Scouring　of　the　Shire'　reflectsthe　situation　in　England　at　the　time　when　I　was　finishing　my　tale。　It　doesnot。　It　is　an　essential　part　of　the　plot；　foreseen　from　the　outset；　though　inthe　event　modified　by　the　character　of　Saruman　as　developed　in　the　storywithout；　need　I　say；　any　allegorical　significance　or　contemporary　politicalreference　whatsoever。　It　has　indeed　some　basis　in　experience；　though　slender（for　the　economic　situation　was　entirely　different）；　and　much　further　back。　
The　country　in　which　I　lived　in　childhood　was　being　shabbily　destroyed　before　　
　
I　was　ten；　in　days　when　motor…cars　were　rare　objects　（I　had　never　seen　one）　
and　men　were　still　building　suburban　railways。　Recently　I　saw　in　a　paper　apicture　of　the　last　decrepitude　of　the　once　thriving　corn…mill　beside　its　poolthat　long　ago　seemed　to　me　so　important。　I　never　liked　the　looks　of　the　Youngmiller；　but　his　father；　the　Old　miller；　had　a　black　beard；　and　he　was　notnamed　Sandyman。　
_The　Lord　of　the　Rings_　is　now　issued　in　a　new　edition；　and　theopportunity　has　been　taken　of　revising　it。　A　number　of　errors　andinconsistencies　that　still　remained　in　the　text　have　been　corrected；　and　anattempt　has　been　made　to　provide　information　on　a　few　points　which　attentivereaders　have　raised。　I　have　considered　all　their　ments　and　enquiries；　andif　some　seem　to　have　been　passed　over　that　may　be　because　I　have　failed　tokeep　my　notes　in　order；　but　many　enquiries　could　only　be　answered　byadditional　appendices；　or　indeed　by　the　production　of　an　accessory　volumecontaining　much　of　the　material　that　I　did　not　include　in　the　originaledition；　in　particular　more　detailed　linguistic　information。　In　the　meantimethis　edition　offers　this　Foreword；　an　addition　to　the　Prologue；　some　notes；　
and　an　index　of　the　names　of　persons　and　places。　This　index　is　in　intentionplete　in　items　but　not　in　references；　since　for　the　present　purpose　it　hasbeen　necessary　to　reduce　its　bulk。　A　plete　index；　making　full　use　of　thematerial　prepared　for　me　by　Mrs。　N。　Smith；　belongs　rather　to　the　accessoryvolume。　　
PROLOGUE　　
This　book　is　largely　concerned　with　Hobbits；　and　from　its　pages　a　reader　maydiscover　much　of　their　character　and　a　little　of　their　history。　Furtherinformation　will　also　be　found　in　the　selection　from　the　Red　Book　of　Westmarch　　
that　has　already　been　published；　under　the　title　of　_The　Hobbit_。　That　storywas　derived　from　the　earlier　chapters　of　the　Red　Book；　posed　by　Bilbohimself；　the　first　Hobbit　to　bee　famous　in　the　world　at　large；　and　calledby　him　_There　and　Back　Again；_　since　they　told　of　his　journey　into　the　Eastand　his　return：　an　adventure　which　later　involved　all　the　Hobbits　in　the　greatevents　of　that　Age　that　are　here　related。　
Many；　however；　may　wish　to　know　more　about　this　remarkable　people　fromthe　outset；　while　some　may　not　possess　the　earlier　book。　For　such　readers　afew　notes　on　the　more　important　points　are　here　collected　from　Hobbit…lore；　
and　the　first　adventure　is　briefly　recalled。　　
Hobbits　are　an　unobtrusive　but　very　ancient　people；　more　numerousformerly　than　they　are　today；　for　they　love　peace　and　quiet　and　good　tilledearth：　a　well…ordered　and　well…farmed　countryside　was　their　favourite　haunt。　
They　do　not　and　did　not　understand　or　like　machines　more　plicated　than　aforge…bellows；　a　water…mill；　or　a　hand…loom；　though　they　were　skilful　withtools。　Even　in　ancient　days　they　were；　as　a　rule；　shy　of　'the　Big　Folk'；　asthey　call　us；　and　now　they　avoid　us　with　dismay　and　are　being　hard　to　find。　
They　are　quick　of　hearing　and　sharp…eyed；　and　though　they　are　inclined　to　befat　and　do　not　hurry　unnecessarily；　they　are　nonetheless　nimble　and　deft　intheir　movements。　They　possessed　from　the　first　the　art　of　disappearing　swiftlyand　silently；　when　large　folk　whom　they　do　not　wish　to　meet　e　blunderingby；　and　this　an　they　have　developed　until　to　Men　it　may　seem　magical。　ButHobbits　have　never；　in　fact；　studied　magic　of　any　kind；　and　their　elusivenessis　due　solely　to　a　professional　skill　that　heredity　and　practice；　and　a　closefriendship　with　the　earth；　have　rendered　inimitable　by　bigger　and　clumsierraces。　　
For　they　are　a　little　people；　smaller　than　Dwarves：　less　tout　and　stocky；　
that　is；　even　when　they　are　not　actually　much　shorter。　Their　height　is　　
　
variable；　ranging　between　two　and　four　feet　of　our　measure。　They　seldom　nowreach　three　feet；　but　they　hive　dwindled；　they　say；　and　in　ancient　days　theywere　taller。　According　to　the　Red　Book；　Bandobras　Took　（Bullroarer）；　son　ofIsengrim　the　Second；　was　four　foot　five　and　able　to　ride　a　horse。　He　wassurpassed　in　all　Hobbit　records　only　by　two　famous　characters　of　old；　but　thatcurious　matter　is　dealt　with　in　this　book。　　
As　for　the　Hobbits　of　the　Shire；　with　whom　these　tales　are　concerned；　inthe　days　of　their　peace　and　prosperity　they　were　a　merry　folk。　They　dressed　inbright　colours；　being　notably　fond　of　yellow　and　green；　but　they　seldom　woreshoes；　since　their　feet　had　tough　leathery　soles　and　were　clad　in　a　thickcurling　hair；　much　like　the　hair　of　their　heads；　which　was　monly　brown。　
Thus；　the　only