THE ENT POSITION | 2003-03-15
I have read the Lord of the Rings trilogy many, many times since it was first published decades ago.
In the Lord of the Rings the Ents were the "tree herders." They had taken care of the trees for millennia, so long that most of them had become trees themselves.
Bilbo asked his friend, the oldest of the Ents, whose side he was on in the War of the Rings.
"Well", replied the Ent, "I am not exactly on anybody's side, you see, because nobody is exactly on my side, if you understand what I mean."
The Ent went on to say that he cared about the trees, the things with deep roots in the land. "But", he said, "Nobody really cares about the trees."
"But there are, the Ent continued, "Those whom I am altogether AGAINST.".