Forum

Morgoth wants **everything** for himself, though he can't possibly conceive of why, or what he would DO with "everything" when he got it, and the most wonderful things come first....the Silmarils.

Morgoth wants **everything** for himself, though he can't possibly conceive of why, or what he would DO with "everything" when he got it, and the most wonderful things come first....the Silmarils.

This is interesting, because that's what it seems like. But how does one reconcile Morgoth's want of the Silmarils with his nature as a nihilist - someone who wanted to destroy *everything*

I don't actually think that Melkor/Morgoth or Sauron necessarily want to destroy. In fact, the reverse is true, what they want more than anything else is to create, but since they can't, they take out their fundamental frustration by destroying OTHER creations, or twisting them so that they appear to be "creation", but in fact aren't.

"Thus, as Morgoth, when Melkor was confronted by the existence of other inhabitants of Arda, with other wills and intelligences, he was enraged by the mere fact of their existence, and his only notion of dealing with them was by physical force, or the fear of it. His sole ultimate object was their destruction.
...
He was aware, at any rate originally when still capable of rational thought, that he could not 'annihilate' them: that is, destroy their being; but their physical 'life', and incarnate form became increasindly to his mind the only thing that was worth considering. Or he became so far advanced in Lying that he lied even to himself, and pretended that he could destroy them and rid Arda of them altogether.
...
This was sheer nihilism, and negation its one ultimate object: Morgoth would no doubt, if he had been victorious, have ultimately destroyed even his own 'creatures', such as the Orcs, when they had served his sole purpose in using them: the destruction of Elves and Men. Melkor's final impotence and despair lay in this: ... Melkor could do nothing with Arda, which was not from his mind and was interwoven with the work and thoughts of others: even left alone he could only have gone raging on till all was levelled again into a formless chaos. And yet even so he would have been defeated, because it would still have 'existed', independent of his own mind, and a world in potential."

"it came into the heart of Melkor to interweave matters of his own imagining that were not in accord with the theme of Ilúvatar; for he sought therein to increased the power and glory of the part assigned to himself ... He had gone often alone into the void places seeking the Imperishable Flame; for desire grew hot within him to bring into Being things of his own.
...
Melkor was filled with shame, of which came secret anger."

And he feigned, even to himself at first, that he desired to go thither and order all things for the good of the Children of Ilúvatar, controlling the turmoils of the heat and the cold that had come to pass through him [in his creations in the Music]. But he desired rather to subdue to his will both Elves and Men, envying the gifts with which Ilúvatar promised to endow them; and he wished himself to have subjects and servants, and to be called Lord, and to be a master over other wills.

And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.
...
And thou, Melkor, wilt discover all the secret thoughts of thy mind, and wilt perceive that they are but a part of the whole and tributary to its glory.

Somehow I just liked the idea of him having had some good in him once -which he probably also had at the very first That be when Iluvatar first created him.

And it is furthermor mentioned that above all of the Elder he hates Feanor

Rereading these bits made me think a somewhat controversial thought (or at least it might be) -the spirits of Melkor and Fëanor were in many ways equal, of course they had differnt peronalities, I would never say Fëanor was evil, but thay're both skillful and intelligent etc.
Might this have been some deliberate link that Tolkien made between them?

Apparently one of the books is named Morgoth's Ring. In the description of the book on Amazon.com was this, which I'll cut and paste here...

"Morgoth's power (Tolkien wrote) was dispersed into the very matter of Arda: "The whole of Middle-earth was Morgoth's Ring."