J. R. R. Tolkien, undisputedly a most fluent speaker of this language, was criticized in his day for indulging his juvenile whim of writing fantasy, which was then considered—as it still is in many quarters— an inferior form of literature and disdained as mere “escapism.” “Of course it is escapist,” he cried. “That is its glory! When a soldier is a prisoner of war it is his duty to escape—and take as many with him as he can.” He went on to explain, “The moneylenders, the knownothings, the authoritarians have us all in prison; if we value the freedom of the mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as possible.“
Stephen R. Lawhead
“I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which ‘Escape’ is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?”
-J.R.R. Tolkien
“Hence the uneasiness which they arouse in those who, for whatever reason, wish to keep us wholly imprisoned in the immediate conflict. That perhaps is why people are so ready with the charge of “escape.” I never fully understood it till my friend Professor Tolkien asked me the very simple question, “What class of men would you expect to be most preoccupied with, and hostile to, the idea of escape?” and gave the obvious answer: jailers.“
The Ea-Nasir meme was believed by experts to be extinct since 1750 BCE until a live population was uncovered in 1953 CE. The meme remained critically endangered until introduction to the tumblr ecosystem circa 2015. Ea-Nasir is now a thriving meme and we are proud to classify this species as Least Concern thanks to your conservation efforts.
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Thank you for your interest! We here at the TACM are happy to receive questions from the public.
In 1953, the surviving population of Ea-Nasir memes were found in Ur. The memes, having endured for thousands of years in the absence of internet users, were subsisting entirely on clay tablets.
Now, ironically, this meme survives on the internet due to high quality copper wires.
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