Classical Virtues in The Lord of the Rings

Special Easter 2019 Edition

Louis Markos, Ph.D., is a professor in English and Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University and holds the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities. Dr. Markos is a respected and widely requested speaker on C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and Christian worldview as well as the arts, education, the new age, apologetics and Ancient Greece and Rome. He is the author of several books and numerous lectures and articles. His most recent book is On the Shoulders of Hobbits: the Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis.

We had Louis Markos speak at the Tolkien event that we held in November 2017 in Greenville, South Carolina. When he took the stage to present, we first had him answer the following three questions for fun:

If you could spend a week in only one place in Middle-earth, where would it be and why?
“I would definitely say Rivendell. How nice it would be in our busy, hectic world to find a true place of peace and rest where time slows down and one feels as if he is living in a song!”

Who is your favorite author of fantasy not named Tolkien and why?
“It must, of course, be C.S. Lewis for bringing Narnia to life and creating a character, Aslan, of true power and goodness and joy, someone who is good but not safe, who is both beautiful and terrible!”

If The Silmarillion were to be made into a movie franchise, who do you think would be the best 1 to 3 directors?
“There is only one choice, and that is Peter Jackson. Yes, he didn’t do very well with The Hobbit, but that is because The Hobbit is NOT an epic novel. But with The Silmarillion, he could make a true epic on the scale of his LotR trilogy!”

In Dr. Markos’ talk, he explores the classical (and Christian) virtues to be found in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. As you listen, you will marvel at his ability to quote large sections from LotR at length (yes, everything he quoted from LotR in his talk he did from memory!).

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