Alma 48:11 Humility and Courage in the Face of War

I read this today and had to post:

Tolkien and Lewis’ recourse was to draw us back to the heroic tradition: a mode of thought tempered by the realities of combat and fortified by belief in a God of justice and mercy.

Perhaps the character of Faramir, the Captain of Gondor in The Lord of the Rings expresses it best. He possesses humility as well as great courage – a warrior with a “grave tenderness in his eyes” – who takes no delight in the prospect of battle. As such, he conveys a message that bears repeating at the present moment, in a world that is no stranger to the sorrows and ravages of war. “War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all,” he explains. “But I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” (Joseph Loconte, A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and a Great War, p. xix. See also: Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, 672.)