Nolo Heroizari: Tolkien and Aquinas on the Humble Journey of Master Samwise
In this article, I argue that Tolkien's Sam Gamgee embodies a Thomistic understanding of humility. For Aquinas humility was a proper valuing of the self that helped resist the temptations to overstep the bounds of right reasoning. But the humble person was also, through humility's twin vir...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Johns Hopkins University Press
[2019]
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| In: |
Christianity & literature
Year: 2019, Volume: 68, Issue: 4, Pages: 605-622 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture KAE Church history 900-1300; high Middle Ages KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history NCB Personal ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Tolkien
B Magnanimity B Humility B Aquinas B Virtue Ethics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In this article, I argue that Tolkien's Sam Gamgee embodies a Thomistic understanding of humility. For Aquinas humility was a proper valuing of the self that helped resist the temptations to overstep the bounds of right reasoning. But the humble person was also, through humility's twin virtue magnanimity, able to do great things by relying on the aid of others. Sam Gamgee's journey from what Tolkien calls "vulgar conceit" to ennobled humility serves as an exemplar of Thomistic virtue. |
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| ISSN: | 2056-5666 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christianity & literature
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0148333119827022 |