from the verb "invenire," meaning "to find" or "to discover.
Invention is not so much about creating anew, it is more about discovering something that already is, you just figure out how to do it…
the concept of "invention" in Latin can also encompass the idea of creating or devising something new. The term "inventio" can thus be understood to mean both the act of discovering something that already exists and the act of creating something new.
Tolkien Was Not merely Writing—He Was Discovering
He did not invent Middle-earth—he found it.
He spoke of writing as a process of discovery, where he was merely recording what already existed in the imaginal realm.
The Hobbits appeared to him fully formed; the Black Riders emerged on their own—he did not know what they were at first.
His experience echoes the process of prophetic vision and mystic revelation—he was in touch with something far greater than himself.
Tolkien Did Not "Make Up" Middle-earth—He Discovered It
- He often described his process as "recording" rather than inventing.
- His mythology felt alive to him, as though it existed independently and he was merely its translator.
- Quote from Tolkien: “The thing seems to write itself once I get going, as if the truth comes out then, only imperfectly glinted in the preliminary sketch.”