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<v Speaker 1>Hey there, and welcome to my series of substack readings.

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<v Speaker 1>In case you are not aware, some time ago, I

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<v Speaker 1>started a substack series on Tolkien's letters over at andrew

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<v Speaker 1>Ininschnyder dot com dot substack, and in the series, I

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<v Speaker 1>was providing a summary and analysis of each of Tolkien's letters.

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<v Speaker 1>I then started to read and record these articles as

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<v Speaker 1>a Tier two benefit over on Patreon. Well, I'm glad

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<v Speaker 1>to say that I'm now reviving both practices over on substack.

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<v Speaker 1>Every other post is free to everybody, with every other

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<v Speaker 1>post being behind a small paywall. And the good news

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<v Speaker 1>is that if you are a Tier two patron or higher,

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<v Speaker 1>you get readings of all the letters delivered through the

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<v Speaker 1>Patreon podcast feed. And my plan is to post one

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<v Speaker 1>of these each Tuesday for the foreseeable future. And for now,

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<v Speaker 1>I am catching up on the record from where I

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<v Speaker 1>last left off, which was only letter four. I didn't

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<v Speaker 1>give very far but previously, but we'll go much further

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<v Speaker 1>this time. If if you want to listen to the

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<v Speaker 1>first three, then just search for letter on Patreon and

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<v Speaker 1>it should come up if you are a Tier two

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<v Speaker 1>patron or higher. But now let's go ahead and get

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<v Speaker 1>to it with letter four. This letter was written to

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<v Speaker 1>Edith Bratt on March second, nineteen sixteen, and in this

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<v Speaker 1>short letter, Tolkien notes that he's been bored reading old

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<v Speaker 1>military lecture notes, but that more enjoyably, he's made some

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<v Speaker 1>improvements to his quote nonsense fairy language. But he's hesitant

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<v Speaker 1>to revel in this too much, as he writes, I

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<v Speaker 1>often long to work at it, and don't let myself

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<v Speaker 1>because though I love it so, it does seem such

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<v Speaker 1>a mad hobby reflection. This is the last of the

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<v Speaker 1>initial short letters to Edith, so next time we'll start

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<v Speaker 1>getting into some more of his his denser correspondents. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>it took me a bit to arrive at that word denser.

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<v Speaker 1>I initially used weightier, but that wasn't quite right. As

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<v Speaker 1>I've previously discussed, these short letters with his beloved Edith

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<v Speaker 1>aren't frivolous, even though they're generally just reciting his daily

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<v Speaker 1>life with a bit of commentary. A shared life, even

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<v Speaker 1>through paper and ink, is never something trivial. That being said,

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<v Speaker 1>as always, there's something worth focusing on in this letter

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<v Speaker 1>for reflection now, and that is Tolkien's mad hobby with

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<v Speaker 1>his fairy language. One hand, it does seem to be

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<v Speaker 1>a bit mad. He's pouring his energy, his time, and

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<v Speaker 1>his talents into crafting an intricate fantasy language. Even as

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<v Speaker 1>a child, Tolkien had this affinity for made up childish languages.

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<v Speaker 1>But this is something more than a child's game, even

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<v Speaker 1>if it maintains a similar kind of humor. He's now

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<v Speaker 1>creating a real, constructed language based on his philological scholarship.

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<v Speaker 1>Keep in mind that this is a man who, when

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<v Speaker 1>still in grade school, was able to hold debates in Latin, Greek,

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<v Speaker 1>Gothic and English Saxon, not to mention his acquaintance with French, German,

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<v Speaker 1>Spanish and Welsh, among other languages. Of everything he might

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<v Speaker 1>do with such linguistic expertise, why invent this fairy language?

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<v Speaker 1>Tolkien gives us the answer in this short letter. He

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<v Speaker 1>loved it. Of course, hard work is essential and building

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<v Speaker 1>something worthwhile, But it really is that simple beauty, empowered

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<v Speaker 1>by love is able to awaken true greatness. There's this

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<v Speaker 1>great clip from a BBC interview that makes us rounds

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<v Speaker 1>from time to time. When the interviewer asked Tolkien, we said,

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<v Speaker 1>why did you do this? You know, why invent this world?

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<v Speaker 1>Why invent this language even before you give us the hobbit, like,

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<v Speaker 1>why did you do all this? And Tolkien response by

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<v Speaker 1>just giving a small little smirk and shrugging his shoulders,

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<v Speaker 1>as if to say, like, why wouldn't I do this?

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<v Speaker 1>So that you had invented, literally invented the world before

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<v Speaker 1>you even wrote the hobbit? Oh? Yes, why? And I

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<v Speaker 1>just I think that there's something very very true and

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<v Speaker 1>very good about that, something very much of the artistic's

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<v Speaker 1>soul in that response. Now, as we've seen in previous letters,

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<v Speaker 1>Tolkien's secondary world was already starting to take shape just

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<v Speaker 1>as the primary world came to be through the divine word,

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<v Speaker 1>so too would his world be born of language. And

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<v Speaker 1>a letter much further down the road, he writes, nobody

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<v Speaker 1>believes me when I say that my long book is

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<v Speaker 1>an attempt to create a world in which a form

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<v Speaker 1>of language aggreefable to my personal aesthetic might seem real.

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<v Speaker 1>That's from Letter two O five. See. Many modern fantasy

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<v Speaker 1>authors have invented nonsense languages that would match their worlds,

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<v Speaker 1>but Tolkien's approach is exactly the opposite. Tolkien made a

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<v Speaker 1>world that match his language, which in turn is drawn

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<v Speaker 1>from deep philological prime matter that lays beneath various primary

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<v Speaker 1>world languages. This relates to an idea that will be

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<v Speaker 1>explored further as we journey through these letters. Tolkien's world

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<v Speaker 1>is not made up. It is at its core true

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<v Speaker 1>one man's mad hobby very well may yield an enchanted

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<v Speaker 1>and enchanting world that brings us sanity when we need

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<v Speaker 1>it the most. And I end today with a clip

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<v Speaker 1>of Tolkien writing and speaking a bit of Elvish, and

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<v Speaker 1>so you can listen to it through this feed, and

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<v Speaker 1>then I will also link the YouTube video in the

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<v Speaker 1>show notes in case you haven't seen it right. I

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<v Speaker 1>hope that you enjoyed that. And this was a short

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<v Speaker 1>little letter. Some of them have a lot more to

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<v Speaker 1>deal with, but I feel like already you can see

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<v Speaker 1>that there are significant things to draw out from even

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<v Speaker 1>these short letters written to Edith. And so if you

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<v Speaker 1>are not already a Tier two patron or higher, the

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<v Speaker 1>I no, that's what you need to be in order

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<v Speaker 1>to get access to these recordings moving forward. So I

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<v Speaker 1>hope that you appreciate that benefit, and I will talk

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<v Speaker 1>to you next time. Until then, God Speaking. The music

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<v Speaker 1>from this episode is owned by Warner Music Group. Please

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<v Speaker 1>don't sue me.