When Saruman said “The white light can be broken” Gandalf replies “In which case it is no longer white and he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.”

Is Tolkien taking a shot at Sir Isaac Newton and his experiments with optics and prisms? For that matter, did Tolkien ever make his feelings known about the Age of Enlightenment? At the very least, he didn’t seem to be a fan of the Industrial Revolution.