[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

This is a somewhat imprecise description, but there are other sources than the Silmarillion that describe the same event in slightly different words. Elrond's account from The Council of Elrond runs thus:

I beheld the last combat on the slopes of Orodruin, where Gil-galad died and Elendil fell, and Narsil broke beneath him; but Sauron himself was overthrown, and Isildur cut the Ring from his hand with the hilt-shard of his father's sword, and took it for his own.

Additionally, Appendix A to The Lord of the Rings tells us:

...and in the Last Alliance that was made against him Sauron was overthrown and the One Ring was taken from him.

Now, we could go into the semantics of placing the overthrow before the taking of the Ring, but Earendilyon has the right of it: Sauron was defeated by Elendil and Isildur, and thrown down; but his power did not depart until the Ring was taken from him. In letter #131, Tolkien says: "Isildur, Elendil's son, cuts the ring from Sauron's hand and his power departs, and his spirit flees into the shadows". This is much less ambiguous than the line from the Silmarillion. Tolkien clearly associates the departure of Sauron's power with Isildur's taking of the Ring, although Sauron had already been thrown down beforehand. I can't imagine Isildur being able to cut off Sauron's finger if the Dark Lord was still able to wield a weapon.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 11:53 AM December 13, 2003: Message edited by: The Squatter of Amon Rûdh ]