[Child of the 7th Age]

Karuharan -- I disagree with your contention that the Ring would have been "safe" with a human for many years, and that Aragorn would not have recognized it.

First, Aragorn was knowledgable about Elvish history and culture. He would probably have heard of the Elvish rings of power, and would have made the connection once he realized that this Ring had magical powers such as conferring invisibility. Aragorn would not realize it was THE Ring, any more than Gandalf initially did, but he would at least have recognized that it was a magic ring and that such items could be dangerous and powerful.

Secondly, just compare the history of hobbits and humans in the context of Middle-earth. There was only one known murder in all of hobbit history; the same can not be said of humans.

Tolkien felt that modern man was actually an amalgam of ancient Elf, Hobbit, and Man. Each of these Middle-earth residents represented a different side of modern man's personality. The hobbit side was gentle, childlike and fun-loving. Hobbits definitely had faults, but they were not the faults of those who sought great power. Hence, the Ring would have less influence on Hobbits than on Man or Elf.

Moreover, Hobbit "government" in the Shire was local and decentralized so there was, by default, more individual freedom. There was really no central auhority to come in and confiscate a Ring. A wealthy hobbit might offer money or riches for the ring to a poor hobbit, but there was no all powerful leader who would have the innate authority to confiscate it.

Compare that with humans in Middle-earth. Human society generally had more centralized authority whether in Rohan or Gondor. Men generally lived under a King or a Lord. You can bet the moment the ruler heard about a ring that made one invisible, he would find some pretext for investigating and confiscating it. And if a ruler with ambition got the Ring, even if he didn't initially know its powers, he would inevitably be corrupted by it.

sharon, the 7th age hobbit