What a great quote! And what a great drabble inspired by it. I am nodding heartily with you on both points: on the importance of Feanor's charisma and gift for language, and on the point that the Noldor, having lost all that they knew to be truth, were primed to respond to him the way that they did. I've argued this point with people because I think it's one of the most important aspects of their story.

On the broader point of language, per our meta-ish conversation the other day, words always amaze me for the power they have over us. It truly is as Hawthorne says: You see these little black otherwise-meaningless symbols and think they can't do much harm ... but they forge friendships, start wars, and allow people born continents or centuries apart to understand one another. Which is why I can't put too much value on seeing a person as I do speaking with her. :)

And, somehow, I think Elrond would have remember Maglor's lesson. :)