<!>Obsessed with Dwarf Fortress, Send Help (2014-03-26 01:01:21)
Obsessed with Dwarf Fortress, Send Help
Anthologica Universe Atlas / Forums / Miscellaneria / Obsessed with Dwarf Fortress, Send Help / <!>Obsessed with Dwarf Fortress, Send Help (2014-03-26 01:01:21)

? Rhetorica Your Writing System Sucks
posts: 1292
, Kelatetía message
Thus sayeth the good book:

Tolkien vocally opposed Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party prior to the Second World War, and was known to especially despise Nazi racist and anti-Semitic ideology. In 1938, the publishing house Rütten & Loening Verlag was preparing to release The Hobbit in Nazi Germany. To Tolkien's outrage, he was asked beforehand whether he was of Aryan origin. In a letter to his British publisher Stanley Unwin, he condemned Nazi "race-doctrine" as "wholly pernicious and unscientific". He added that he had many Jewish friends and was considering "letting a German translation go hang".[104] He provided two letters to Rütten & Loening and instructed Unwin to send whichever he preferred. The more tactful letter was sent and was lost during the later bombing of Germany. In the unsent letter, Tolkien makes the point that "Aryan" is a linguistic term, denoting speakers of Indo-Iranian languages. He continued,

But if I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people. My great-great-grandfather came to England in the 18th century from Germany: the main part of my descent is therefore purely English, and I am an English subject—which should be sufficient.

Moreover—dwarves are associated with metalsmithing and greed as far back as the Prose and Poetic Edda, which chronicle Icelandic myths from the 13th century and earlier. It is unreasonable to assume any other influences when such a clear, direct example exists in Tolkien's primary sources.

You can't believe everything you read on the internet, Zontas. Do your research before flinging around accusations. There have been many, many shoddy readings of old books over the years by people trying to sow conflict for their own gain. It is vital that you don't succumb to the first article you come across. (And if you do, let it at least be Wikipedia.)