[The Saucepan Man]

In condemning Pippin, everyone habitually refers to the “Palantir incident”. But what is the basis for concluding from this incident that Pippin would have been vulnerable to the effects of the Ring?

It is said that the “Palantir incident” was a consequence of Pippin’s curious nature. But surely curiosity alone would not have led him to attack one of his closest friends (and anyone trying to seize the Ring would have had to have taken it by force). Taking the Palantir from a sleeping Gandalf just to “have a look” is a completely different proposition to attacking Frodo in order to deprive him permanently of the Ring. Possibly, the Ring might have tried to “play on” Pippin’s curious nature to tempt him into going for it, just as it played on Boromir’s pride and his wish to defend his country and his people. But, as I have said, I see Hobbits as having a particular resistance to the Ring’s seductive power. Admittedly, the power of the Palantir had an effect in encouraging Pippin’s curiosity, but I see the nature of the Palantir’s power as quite different to that of the Ring. And the Ring would have needed to overcome sturdy resistance indeed to have tempted Pippin into attacking one of his bestest pals.

And then there is the Ring itself to consider. Its purpose was to return to its Master. In choosing who to try to tempt into making a play for it, it would no doubt take into account its victim’s physical power as well as his likely susceptibility to its wiles (hence it picked on Boromir, the prime candidate under these criteria). On this basis, I would think Pippin would be fairly low down on its list of candidates.