The Lost Road and Other Writings. Christopher Tolkien

have been; yet less fair and wise than the Elves, though greater in stature. For the Númenóreans were taller even than the tallest of the sons of Men in Middle-earth. Above all their arts they nourished shipbuilding and sea-craft, and became mariners whose like shall never be again, since the world has been diminished. They ranged from Eressëa in the West to the shores of Middle-earth, and came even into the inner seas; and they sailed about the North and the South, and glimpsed from their high prows the Gates of Morning in the East. And they appeared among the wild Men and filled them with wonder and dismay, and some esteemed them to be Gods or the sons of Gods out of the West; and the Men of Middle-earth feared them, for they were under the shadow of Morgoth, and believed the Gods to be terrible and cruel. The Númenóreans taught them such of the truth as they could comprehend, but it became only as a distant rumour little understood; for as yet the Númenóreans came seldom to Middle-earth and did not tarry there long. Their hearts were set westward, and they began to hunger for the undying bliss of Valinor; and they were restless and pursued by desire as their power and glory grew.

§4 For the Gods forbade them to sail beyond the Lonely Isle, and would not permit any to land in Valinor, because the Númenóreans were mortal; and though the Lords had rewarded them with long life, they could not take from them the weariness of the world that cometh at last; and they died, even their kings of the seed of Eärendel, and their span was brief in the eyes of the Elves. And they began to murmur against this decree; and a great discontent grew among them. Their masters of knowledge sought unceasingly for secrets that should prolong their lives; and they sent spies to seek forbidden lore in Avallon. But the Gods were angered.

§5 And it came to pass that Sauron, servant of Morgoth, grew mighty in Middle-earth; and the mariners of Númenor brought rumour of him. Some said that he was a king greater than the King of Númenor; some said that he was one of the Gods or their sons set to govern Middle-earth. A few reported that he was an evil spirit, perchance Morgoth himself returned. But this was held to be only a foolish fable of the wild Men. Tar-kalion was King of Númenor in those days, and he was proud; and believing that the Gods had delivered the dominion of the earth to the Númenóreans, he would not brook a king mightier than himself in any land. Therefore he purposed to send his servants to summon Sauron to Númenor, to do homage before him. The Lords sent messages to the king and spake through the mouths of wise men and counselled him against this mission; for they said that Sauron would work evil if he came; but he could not come to Númenor unless he was summoned and guided by the king’s messengers. But Tar-kalion in his pride put aside the counsel, and he sent many ships.

Now rumour of the power of Númenor and its allegiance to the Gods came also to Sauron, and he feared lest the Men of the West should rescue those of Middle-earth from the Shadow; and being cunning and filled with malice he plotted in his heart to destroy Númenor, and (if he might) to bring grief upon the Gods. Therefore he humbled himself before the messengers, and came by ship to Númenor. But as the ships of the embassy drew nigh to the land an unquiet came upon the sea, and it arose like a mountain and cast the ships far inland; and the ship whereon Sauron stood was set upon a hill. And Sauron stood upon the hill and preached a message of deliverance from death to the Númenóreans; and he beguiled them with signs and wonders. And little by little he turned their hearts toward Morgoth, his master; and he prophesied that ere long he would come again into the world. And Sauron spake to Tar-kalion the king, and to Tar-ilien his queen, and promised them life unending and the dominion of the earth, if they would turn unto Morgoth. And they believed him, and fell under the Shadow, and the greatest part of their people followed them. And Tar-kalion raised a great temple to Morgoth upon the Mountain of Ilúvatar in the midst of the land; and Sauron dwelt there and all Númenor was under his vigilance.

      [The greater part of §5 was replaced by the following shorter version:]

      And it came to pass that Sauron, servant of Morgoth, grew strong in Middle-earth; and he learned of the power and glory of the Númenóreans, and of their allegiance to the Gods, and he feared lest coming they should wrest the dominion of the East from him and rescue the Men of Middle-earth from the Shadow. And the king heard rumour of Sauron; and it was said that he was a king greater than the King of Númenor. Wherefore, against the counsel of the Gods, the king sent his servants to Sauron, and bade him come and do homage. And Sauron, being filled with cunning and malice, humbled himself and came; and he beguiled the Númenóreans with signs and wonders. But little by little Sauron turned their hearts towards Morgoth; and he prophesied that ere long he would come again into the world. And Sauron spake to Tar-kalion King of Númenor and to Tar-ilien his queen …

      For the remainder of FN II, until the final paragraph, I note only the few differences from FN I that are of any substance. The changes of Sûr, Angor, and Istar to Sauron, Tar-kalion, and Tar-ilien are not noticed.

§6 ‘And they passed Tol-eressëa’ > ‘And they encompassed Avallon’; ‘fire came upon the sides of Taniquetil’ > ‘fire came upon Kôr and smokes rose about Taniquetil.’

§7 In FN II the paragraph opens: ‘But the Gods made no answer. Then many of the Númenóreans set foot upon the forbidden shores, and they camped in might upon the borders of Valinor.’

      ‘Angor the mighty and Istar his queen’ > ‘Tar-kalion the golden and bright Ilien his queen’; ‘the Forgotten Caves’ > ‘the Caves of the Forgotten’.

The mysterious concluding sentence concerning the Elves of Eressëa (see the commentary on FN I) was retained but struck out later in pencil.

§8 The concluding sentence does not appear; see the commentary on FN I.

§9 ‘Partly by the [desire >] command of Tar-kalion, and partly by their own will (because some still revered the Gods and would not go with war into the West) many had remained behind, and sat in their ships…’

      There is now no mention of the great wind that arose.

§10 The paragraph now opens: ‘There, though shorn of their former power, and few in number and scattered, they after became lords and kings of Men. Some were evil and forsook not Sauron in their hearts; and some were of good will and retained memory of the Gods. But all alike …’

      In ‘the span of their lives, which had of old been greater than that of the lesser races’ the words ‘greater than’ > ‘thrice’.

      The concluding sentence reads: ‘For which reason in after days they would bury their dead in ships, or set them in pomp …’

§11 ‘And the spell that lay there was not wholly vain’ > ‘And this was not wholly fantasy’, but this was struck out.

      ‘For the ancient line of the world remained in the mind of Ilúvatar and in the thought of the Gods, and in the memory of the world …’

      At the end of the paragraph is added: ‘Therefore they built very high towers in those days.’

§12 The paragraph now begins: