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I think I must still be unclear on something. First of all, I assume that by "exist" you mean on a level that is tangible to mere mortals and such.
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No, not necessarily 'tangible'. I mean they 'exist' in that they are capable of affecting the physical world in some way. When this incarnate fea is separated from its hroa (most likely this will only happen when it 'dies'), its spirit will be rendered impotent. A Maia, on the other hand, is a being whose nature it is to exist in an incorporeal state. Though the Maia,
after dying as an incarnate, would also be a powerless spirit (as we must assume was the case with the Balrogs and Dragons, as well as Saruman, Sauron, and Melkor, per
Myths Transformed), its
nature as created was eala. The difference lies in that the hybrid's original nature was
physical: the being never existed and could never exist in a discarnate state. In other words, since a Maia is partly defined as an eala, a being that cannot exist in that form simply cannot be Maia.
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Second, after the point in time when Balrogs lost their ability to change their forms, or became permanently incarnate, did that change their status. After all, they were no longer able to exist in a disembodied state.
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No. Tolkien still referred to Balrogs, Sauron, and the Istari as Maiar. Besides, it's an issue of the created (or born) nature of the spirit, not its state of being at any given time.
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Kind of like (and this is just an example) a change from one state of matter to another. Steam is water, but if it condenses it's still water, but it is no longer steam. (A rather imperfect comparison, but is that sort of what you are saying?)
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hmm, somewhat. It can probably be most simply put in mathematical terms. Where it's possible that the scenario could be represented this way: 1 + 0 = 1; I think it should probably be considered this way: 1 + (-1) = 0. Though the resultant being would not likely 'be a zero'. Anyway, I think that should clear up my thinking on that particular question.
We seem to be winding down. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
[ May 31, 2002: Message edited by: obloquy ]