Replies

Tilting at windmills, again?

legend

/"led()nd/ noun 1 traditional story, myth. 2 colloquial famous or remarkable person or event. 3 inscription. 4 explanation on map etc. of symbols used.
1 epic, folk-tale, myth, saga, story, tradition.

I. Legend and Myth

The English term "legend" is derived, through Middle English, Old French, and Medieval Latin, from the Latin legendus, meaning "that which is, or has to be read." Originally, a legend was something to be read at religious services or meals, a story supposed to provide spiritual uplift, such as a saint's or a martyr's life. In modern usage legend is a traditional narrative, handed down for generations among a group of people, and popularly believed to be true - that is, to have a historical basis. However, although legends often do include historical personages and facts, the stories they tell are not verifiable and cannot be considered historical records. Frequently the legends tell of wonderful or miraculous events, and their protagonists are kings, princes, heroes, saints, and pious individuals.

Introduction to:

Gates to the Old City
A Book of Jewish Legends
Selected and translated by
Raphael Patai

A book of Jewish Legends and including Bible, Apocrypha, Talmud, Midrash, Kabbala, Hasidism and Jewish Folktales

***

Just as God gave great powers to the forces of holiness, as is plain from the exploits of patriarchs and prophets, so He gave great power to the forces of profanity. This was in order to create tests of faith, so that people could choose between good and evil. Now, in his desperation for counsel, Saul resorted to this forbidden device to call upon the spirit of Samuel.
Notes on 1 Samuel 28:11

Oh my, a story of occult behavior! Oh no, run away!!

***

Frodo : "Pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance."

Gandalf : "Pity ? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many who live deserve death, and some who die deserve life. Can you give it to them ? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends, but my heart tells me that Gollum still has a part to play, for good or ill. Before this is over, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many."

Frodo : "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had ever happened."

Gandalf : "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time we are given. There are other forces at work in the world than the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring, which means that you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought. Ah ! It's this way."

The Fellowship of The Ring

So, Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment.