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The '''Secret Fire''' and '''Flame Imperishable''' as well as possibly the '''Flame of Anor''' are references to a mysterious power.
__NOTOC__
{{disambig-more|Secret Fire|[[Secret Fire (disambiguation)]]}}
{{object infobox
| name=Secret Fire
| image=[[File:Anna Kulisz - Ainulindale - Harmony.jpg|250px]]
| caption=''Ainulindale - Harmony'' by [[:Category:Images by Anna Kulisz|Anna Kulisz]]
| othernames=Flame Imperishable
| location=[[Eä]]
| owner=[[Eru Ilúvatar]]
| notablefor=Power of Creation
}}
{{quote|Therefore Ilúvatar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the Void, and the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the World; and it was called Eä.|''[[Valaquenta]]''}}
The '''Secret Fire''', also known as the '''Flame Imperishable''', was Eru [[Ilúvatar]]'s mysterious power of creation.


The Secret Fire, also called the Flame Imperishable, seems to refer to that aspect of Eru [[Ilúvatar]] which is his Power of Creation. It was with Ilúvatar at the beginning, so [[Melkor]] sought for it in vain, and later Ilúvatar set it (or an aspect of it) at the centre of [[Arda]].
==History==
The Secret Fire is that aspect of Eru which is his Power of Creation. Only by means of the Secret Fire can something with substance or life be made from nothing. It was by means of the Secret Fire that Eru gave to the [[Music of the Ainur]] real being and existence as [[Eä]].  


:''Therefore Ilúvatar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the Void, and the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the World; and it was called Eä.'' — [[Valaquenta]], [[the Silmarillion]].
Eru created all [[fëa|fëar]], including those of the [[Ainur]], [[Elves]], [[Dwarves]], and [[Men]], through the Secret Fire, and it is a part of each of them. Only a being animated with the Secret Fire can have its own true life and free will. Without it, creatures lack sentience and independent thought, though they may be puppeteered by a greater will. Aulë's Dwarves were such automata until Eru endowed them with their own fëar born of the Secret Fire.<ref>{{S|Aule}}</ref>


Even before the Music was sung, [[Morgoth|Melkor]] envied this power and sought it in the [[Void]], but the Flame Imperishable was with Eru.<ref>{{S|Ainu}}</ref> After the Music, Eru sent it to burn at the center of the [[World]].<ref>{{S|IIa}}</ref>


The Secret Fire is also described as being part of all [[Fëa and hröa|feä]]: it is that Gift which makes sentient beings capable of independent thought.
Only Eru as Creator could command the Secret Fire; no created being could claim this power.<ref>{{L|212}}</ref> Given this, it is unclear as to how Melkor could have "made" such creatures as [[Orcs]] and [[Dragons]] or how these could have acted in the apparently rational and self-directed manner in which they did. See [[Orcs/Origin]] for a fuller examination of this thorny issue.


Loosely, it could be taken as an alternate name of the Holy Spirit.
[[Gandalf]] the Grey referred to both the Secret Fire and the [[flame of Anor]] while facing [[Durin's Bane|a Balrog]] on the Bridge of [[Moria|Khazad-dûm]], saying "''I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor.''"<ref>{{FR|II5}}</ref>


[[Gandalf]] the Grey referred to both the Secret Fire and the Flame of Anor at the Bridge of [[Khazad-dûm]]:  
==Inspiration==
 
This is an alternate name of the Holy Spirit in Tolkien's mythos, like [[Ilúvatar|Eru]] is the name of God. [[Clyde S. Kilby]] mentions a discussion he had with Tolkien: "Professor Tolkien talked to me at some length about the use of the word 'holy' in ''The Silmarillion''. Very specifically he told me that the 'Secret Fire sent to burn at the heart of the World' in the beginning was the Holy Spirit."<ref>[[Clyde S. Kilby]], ''[[Tolkien and The Silmarillion]]'', "Tolkien as Christian Writer", p. 59</ref>
:''"You cannot pass," he said. The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass."'' &#8212; [[The Fellowship of the Ring]] II 5: The Bridge of Khazad-dûm.
 
''Anor'' is a name for the [[Sun]] in the mythology, as well as a name for the ''True West'' (i.e. [[Valinor]]). Further, some have speculated that Gandalf said "Flame of Anor" in reference to the fact that he wielded one of the Three Rings of Power, [[Narya]].  Thus it is uncertain if the [[Flame of Anor]] is identical to the ''Secret Fire'', but both it and ''The Secret Fire'' identified Gandalf as a servant of the [[Valar]].


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Fëa and hröa]]
* [[Fëa and hröa]]
* [[Orcs/Origin]]
==External links==
*[http://jonathansmcintosh.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/tolkien-servant-of-the-secret-fire/ Tolkien, Servant of the Secret Fire] by Jonathan McIntosh
{{references|notes}}


[[Category:Concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts]]
[[category:Cosmology]]
[[de:Das Geheime Feuer]]
[[de:Das Geheime Feuer]]
[[fi:Salainen Tuli]]
[[fi:Salainen Tuli]]

Revision as of 02:23, 28 April 2022

The name Secret Fire refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Secret Fire (disambiguation).
Secret Fire
Anna Kulisz - Ainulindale - Harmony.jpg
Ainulindale - Harmony by Anna Kulisz
Other namesFlame Imperishable
LocationEä
OwnerEru Ilúvatar
Notable forPower of Creation
"Therefore Ilúvatar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the Void, and the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the World; and it was called Eä."
― Valaquenta

The Secret Fire, also known as the Flame Imperishable, was Eru Ilúvatar's mysterious power of creation.

History

The Secret Fire is that aspect of Eru which is his Power of Creation. Only by means of the Secret Fire can something with substance or life be made from nothing. It was by means of the Secret Fire that Eru gave to the Music of the Ainur real being and existence as Eä.

Eru created all fëar, including those of the Ainur, Elves, Dwarves, and Men, through the Secret Fire, and it is a part of each of them. Only a being animated with the Secret Fire can have its own true life and free will. Without it, creatures lack sentience and independent thought, though they may be puppeteered by a greater will. Aulë's Dwarves were such automata until Eru endowed them with their own fëar born of the Secret Fire.[1]

Even before the Music was sung, Melkor envied this power and sought it in the Void, but the Flame Imperishable was with Eru.[2] After the Music, Eru sent it to burn at the center of the World.[3]

Only Eru as Creator could command the Secret Fire; no created being could claim this power.[4] Given this, it is unclear as to how Melkor could have "made" such creatures as Orcs and Dragons or how these could have acted in the apparently rational and self-directed manner in which they did. See Orcs/Origin for a fuller examination of this thorny issue.

Gandalf the Grey referred to both the Secret Fire and the flame of Anor while facing a Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, saying "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor."[5]

Inspiration

This is an alternate name of the Holy Spirit in Tolkien's mythos, like Eru is the name of God. Clyde S. Kilby mentions a discussion he had with Tolkien: "Professor Tolkien talked to me at some length about the use of the word 'holy' in The Silmarillion. Very specifically he told me that the 'Secret Fire sent to burn at the heart of the World' in the beginning was the Holy Spirit."[6]

See also

External links

Notes

References

  1. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Aulë and Yavanna"
  2. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Ainulindalë: The Music of the Ainur"
  3. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Valaquenta: [Introduction]"
  4. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 212, (dated 14 October 1958)
  5. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"
  6. ↑ Clyde S. Kilby, Tolkien and The Silmarillion, "Tolkien as Christian Writer", p. 59
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