"Morning, my little friends!" he said to the others. "I suppose you know who you've taken up with?
That's Stick-at-naught Strider, that is! Though I've heard other names not so pretty.
Watch out tonight! And you, Sammie, don't go ill-treating my poor old pony! Pah!" He spat again.
Sam turned quickly. "And you, Ferny," he said, "put your ugly face out of sight, or it will get hurt."
With a sudden flick, quick as lightning, an apple left his hand and hit Bill
square on the nose. He ducked too late, and curses came from behind
the hedge. "Waste of a good apple," said Sam regretfully, and strode on.
"Is stick-at-naught even an insult? Why is it so wrong to stop at nothing?"
"Because we should all have limits. If the only way to get what you want is through coercion, maybe reconsider."
"Oh, you heard that phrase differently than I. I heard it as "no obstacle will get in my way." That someone who stops at nothing is dependable and resourceful."
"But some resources should not be touched. Take the Ring itself, for example."
"Touché. Just because it is doable doesn't mean it's...do-a-good."
"Like that joke."
"I tried, it didn't work, I learned. That's another good use of resources."
"A sadder "I came, I saw, I conquered.""
"And yet what did Caesar reap?"
"So Bill Ferny is saying Aragorn is reckless, and that anyone is disposable in whatever quest he takes up."
"And then he takes issue with Sam, urging him to treat his "poor old pony" well, but why is this pony poor to begin with? He mishandles him, then throws responsibility onto someone else."
"But Sam won't have it. He shouts back and throws an apple at him."
"Score one for Sam!"
"But then he regrets it. That apple had other uses."
"So does he regret the loss of the apple, or the violence?"
"The loss of the apple, according to the text. He is outside on the road - he could have easily found a rock or a stick to throw, but he threw an apple. It is a waste of a resource better used for feeding."
"So Sam is also a stick-at-naught. Rather than take a moment to find something more appropriate for throwing he reacts immediately and uses what he has."
"And he loses an apple in the process.'
'A costly lesson, given they don't know how long they will be on the road."
"Yes, he doesn't throw an apple while at an orchard. It's a precious resource."
"What's to be learned from this?"
"Waste is unethical in the first place - and waste is worsened by scarcity. You can waste an apple at an orchard, but you feel the results in the desert. So while throwing an apple is problematic anywhere, it is worse here."
"But rocks and sticks are strewn all over the road."
"Plus it doesn't really matter where they are - throw one at Ferny and that rock is just strewn somewhere else on the road. Zero waste."
"Except Sam's energy to throw - energy that could be conserved."
"Are we going to criticize a in-the-moment response?"
"Yes! That's the problem with throwing the apple. But why throw anything anyway? Look at Aragorn, he gave no answer."
"He nodded. That uses energy, however little."
"Yes - to ignore Ferny could have been seen as an escalation - or a cause for him to escalate his insults. Aragorn lets Ferny know he has been heard, but devotes no more resources against him. He doesn't matter."
"But Sam is not throwing an apple because Ferny insulted him, but because he insulted the pony."
"He also questioned Sam's ability to care for the pony."
"No - he said don't "ill-treat". That suggests an intention to wrong the pony, which Sam won't do. I think he's mad because he denigrates the pony."
"I think Sam's response doesn't even have to do with what Ferny says. He's annoyed he's there at all. He calls him ugly."
"Kind of a low blow from a hero, yes?"
"I think ugly here is a more meaningful term. Indeed, we don't really get a description of Bill Ferny's face, other than it is swarthy like the rest of him. And he's been previously called a sneery fellow, but that's obvious from his interactions here. He isn't very nice."
"Isn't he? He says good morning. The plain meaning of his words are helpful - if Aragorn is a "stop at nothing" as we've discussed the Hobbits should know this. Sam should take care of the pony."
"That's naive - he's obviously taunting them and egging them on. Looking at the plain meaning of his words is an obfuscation; one which empowers the Enemy to "just ask questions".
"But how will we learn if we're unable to ask questions?"
"You need to pay attention to the person's tone and approach - a lot of things that are hard to quantify - to determine if they are being serious."
"Doesn't that empower people who don't want to answer questions to claim the questioner's tone and approach, etc, are unserious."
"Yes - and it would be unethical to obfuscate in that direction, too!"
"I think we should always be willing to answer questions, and if the questioner is unserious their game will be unmasked by their refusal to accept our answers. But if we have truth on our side, we should not fear questions. And if we do not, we should welcome questions to bring us closer to truth. And if they aren't accepting our true answers we can stop talking to them."
"So Bill Ferny is asking questions but not to search for truth, but to push his own agenda. That's the ugliness Sam refers to. He has no time for such ugliness."
"But he says his face is ugly, and he will hurt his face if he doesn't hide it. Then he throws an apple at his face. Ferny may be stirring trouble, unseriously questioning the group, but Sam is the one lobbing insults - and apples. I think he means ugly in a literal way."
"Sam has a lot to learn from Aragorn, then. Aragorn, after all, knows how to find food in the wild. For him, it is like an orchard. And yet he not only resists violence, but even words."
"So Aragorn is not a stick-at-naught."
"Not in this regard, anyway."
"Or else Aragorn did not let Ferny distract him from the Quest. He did not let Ferny's insults get to him."
"So Sam must learn either to be more focused on the Quest, for he has too little stick-at-naught, or he must learn to restrain himself from certain courses of action, the excesses of stick-at-naught,"
"Excellent."
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