Is Tolkien's Christianity present in his works?Educating for Forgiveness with Tolkien and C.S. LewisHe had passed away John Paul II -On April 2, 2005, the Pope of my youth, whom I had followed whenever he traveled to Spain, along with many other young people of my generation, and I decided to organize a pilgrimage to Rome with my students to attend his funeral on April 8. I proposed it to the seniors of the school where I worked without omitting any of the possible inconveniences we would have to suffer; and the idea was so well received that many of those interested could not come because we could not get enough plane tickets.
There was not a single complaint about always carrying a backpack on our backs, nor about sleeping on the ground in the vicinity of Castell Sant'Angelo, nor about the early start to get to a good spot in St. Peter's Square, as we did in fact manage to do. There was not a single complaint for any reason.
For me, as I have always recognized, that adventure was a great lesson that I have never forgotten: young people are capable of much more than we usually imagine. We returned to Madrid very satisfied with the decision we had made, with the inner satisfaction of having participated in the solemn funeral of a very dear and very holy Pope; and, at the same time, delighted with the adventure we had lived together.
This strong and generous response in favor of the good of the group (to carry out the plan and for everyone to have a good time) showed the virtues of those who formed the group. And I say virtues and not values, as it is more frequent to name them nowadays, because values are enough to know them intellectually; on the other hand, virtues must be lived, which always implies a personal overcoming of our natural tendency to comfort. One may know that being punctual to class is an important value, but living the virtue of punctuality requires leaving the soccer game at recess with enough time to get to class on time, one day, another day... and every day-.
Values and virtues
Values are principles that our intelligence accepts as important, beneficial and desirable, and that guide us to behave well and live positively; for example, honesty, respect and kindness. Values can encompass moral, cultural, aesthetic, social and material aspects, etc. They are intellectual concepts that suggest that a certain personal or social behavior is better than a different one.
Nowadays there is a lot of talk about "educating in values". In reality, there is no other way of educating than in values. Only in reference to them can we discern what is good and what is bad; but there are different categories of values: Christian, communist, Muslim, those of an oriental culture, etc. And it is very important to decide which ones guide our educational task and our life. For the avoidance of doubt, here we take Christian values as a reference point.
Classical ethics clearly distinguishes good from evil; on the other hand, the concept of "value" - which appeared in the 20th century - can be used indistinctly to speak of good or evil, although we do differentiate between positive values and negative values or anti-values.
Aristotle and saint Thomas AquinasOn the contrary, they distinguish good from evil with different terms: virtue and vice. Virtue -according to its etymology- comes from the Latin word viswhich means strength and suggests an impulse to do what is right - is a good habit fixed in the will of a person that disposes him interiorly to do good; while a vice is a defect - St. Thomas spoke of the "vice" of a chair when it is badly built - and can occur in the field of any virtue; but he clarifies that a specific act is not enough, but that "a vice" is an inclination, a way of being that leads us away from what is good.
The virtues, as already mentioned, are strengths of character that help us to be good people. Since ancient times we have spoken of four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, from which all human virtues derive. In addition, even if we only mention them, we have the theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, which God gives us freely and which are more powerful aids than the cardinal virtues.
Thus, values are the intellectual concepts that we consider important to discern that a certain behavior is better than another, personally or socially; while virtues go further: they are like "superpowers" that help us to do good consistently and voluntarily. For example, one may be clear in his thinking that honesty - among other things, the ability to treat people as equals and understanding that everyone should have the same opportunities - is very important for coexistence; but being honest requires him to be fair in games with others, so that all participants follow the rules, without cheating others or cheating; and it also helps him to behave in this way.
"Virtue is not something improvised," Pope Francis explained at the General Audience of March 13, 2024; "on the contrary, it is a good that arises from a slow maturation of the person, until it becomes his inner characteristic.
On the other hand, the term "virtue" is currently gaining popularity:
- In the company, some work problems could be solved by developing virtues; for example: certain difficulties to comply with the work, to be punctual, to work as a team, to keep one's word, etc.
- In the field of education, one of the objectives we seek is integral human development, which takes the form of developing human virtues. In some universities such as Oxford or Birmingham, there is already well-developed research on this.
The price and reward of virtues
This is a good time to start clarifying some fundamental issues:
- We need the virtues to do good and fight against evil; they are an indispensable aid to that end: like the wind in the sails of a ship, which pushes it towards its destination, relieving the effort of the oars.
- Developing the virtues presupposes a will trained for effort and sacrifice. Wanting a virtuous life demands that we place pain and suffering in an important place in our life; yes or yes I have to give up what I want and do what I have to do at any given moment; but this does not mean that my life is voluntaristic and sad: love is what makes it possible for us to bear pain and sacrifice with joy and to be very happy even with hardships. This is beautifully expressed in a Navarrese jota, which says: "I crossed the Bardenas, although it snowed and rained, but since I was going to see you, it seemed like spring".
Moreover, when they are for the sake of achieving good, we find meaning in fatigue and suffering, and they bring us happiness.
The following scene from "The Lord of the Rings" is a good illustration. In a moment of despondency due to extreme weakness after days without a bite to eat and the serious threat to the Mission, as he observes the armies of Mordor,
"Suddenly, distant and remote, as if out of the memories of the Shire, lit up by the first morning sun, as the day awoke, and the doors opened, he heard Sam's voice: 'Wake up, Mr. Frodo! Wake up! -If the voice had added, 'Breakfast is served,' he would have been little surprised." It was evident that Sam was anxious.
-Wake up, Mr. Frodo! They have gone, and we had better get away from here too.
-Courage, Mr. Frodo!
"Frodo raised his head, and then sat up. Despair had not left him, but he was no longer so weak. He even smiled, with a certain irony, feeling now as clearly as a moment before he had felt the opposite, that what he had to do, he had to do, if he could, and it mattered little that Faramir or Aragorn or Elrond or Galadriel or Gandalf or anyone else would never know. He took the staff in one hand and the glass vial in the other. When he saw the clear light streaming through his fingers, he held it close to his chest again and clasped it to his heart. Then, turning his back on the city of Morgul, he set out on his way up."
And Frodo was encouraged by the vivid memory of Lady Galadriel presenting him in Lothlórien with the small flask that was lighting him up.
"And you, Ring-bearer," said the Lady, turning to Frodo. For you I have prepared this. He held up a small flask, which sparkled as she moved it, and rays of light flashed from his hand. In this vial,' she said, 'I have gathered the light of Eärendil's star, as it appeared in the waters of my fountain. It will shine even brighter in the middle of the night. May it be for thee a light in the dark places, when all other lights have been extinguished. remember Galadriel!"
This episode shows very clearly how Frodo, the memory of Galadriel gives him courage and courage and, for the love he has for her, he decides to go up again; and at the same time, the light that emerges from the flask she gave him drives him to carry out the Mission, consisting of destroying the Ring in Mordor, to free the world from the slavery of Sauron.
Conclusions
Human virtues are habits that man acquires with continuous effort, that make him a better person, that impel him to act well in a permanent and stable way and help him to reach a successful life that we call "virtuous life"; which does not consist in a heavy burden, or in simply complying with a set of rules and sacrifices. On the contrary, striving for integrity makes one better and happier.
The path that is necessary to follow to develop virtues is arduous, for it is not enough to begin one day to study at the scheduled time, to acquire the virtue of diligence, but it is necessary that, freely and voluntarily, we live acts of diligence every day -and if we fail, we start again-; this perseverance will forge in our will the firm disposition to be diligent as usual; at the same time, we find that it becomes easier and easier to do the tasks at the scheduled time, with simplicity and pleasure. And this can be applied to all human virtues.
But in the development of virtues by the boy or girl, in addition to the repetition of acts, the affective dimension is also of great importance: there are many children who overcome difficulties with the virtue of purity, which they do not manage to overcome, although they try; but suddenly, they fall in love and are reciprocated, and suddenly these difficulties disappear. Love generates a force, an inner energy, which helps to overcome all difficulties.
The next articles will be devoted to human virtues, recalling what they consist of and showing how to help children and students to develop and acquire them. One of my sources of inspiration will be the literature of Tolkien, who created a mythology with the unequivocal intention of encouraging his readers to start on the path of good and the fight against evil, and in which his protagonists stand out for living the virtues we call human - fortitude, detachment, the spirit of service, solidarity, etc. - in their efforts to make a better world. I will also try to show abundant and varied current testimonies that can serve as examples.
Physicist. High School Mathematics, Physics and Religion teacher.
