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Originally Posted by davem
I think Tolkien's position was that we should only 'study' evil to the point that we can recognise it - not that we should go into its nature & pratice in depth. Elrond warns that is is dangerous to study the arts of the Enemy.
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Well said!
And to build on that, remember how Saruman fell: by delving too deeply into the lore of Sauron's power. Sauron's evil. To study evil too closely is to become tempted by evil, and the possibility of turning to evil becomes increasingly strong. Gandalf does not fall, while Saruman does, because he knew better than to study Sauron that deeply. (Okay, there were other reasons too, but this is a biggie.)