unreadable books

Like when Aragorn starts on the paths of the dead bookwise he and his Dunedain are regarded, despite their small size, among the most powerful companies in the area. And then with the dead, he defeats armies in southern Gondor and rallies those people to fight at his command, showing his ability as a king. When he gets to Minas Tirith he is leading an army as great as Rohan instead of a handful and a ship of vapours that would have been laughed at by orcs and ringwraiths. Moviewise he's never more than a nerfherder with ideas above his station stealing Arwen and betraying Elrond.

It is the long probation in the old way of teaching that fellows funk at or makes funks of them and their slow pace, almost up to the end of that probation, all who teach themselves are in a worse predicament as the hands with them are made the principle propellors instead of the feet.

It meant politics, political personhood, republic, sovereignhood and power.