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Originally Posted by Boromir88
And Denethor, no one seemed to know about his use of the palantir. While he went drastically down hill, that seemed to me to be more out of grief and despair. The palantir heightened and compounded his despair becuase of what Sauron had shown him, but Faramir's apparent death was what sent Denethor over the edge:
It is noted also in UT that the palantir was a mental strain on Denethor, and contributed to his grimness, which hastened Finduilas' death:
So, as far as 'mental' signs Denethor became more grim (but that means he was already a 'grim' man before he looked into the palantir). He still was able to appear and look normal up until he believed Faramir had died, then he just lost his mind.
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An additional 'mental' sign may perhaps be that he came to see the entire conflict as Sauron versus himself; Gandalf was a troublemaker rather than a wise counsellor, and Aragorn was seen as an upstart rival for the throne rather than the rightful heir for whom Denethor was saving the throne. These are additional signs of how the palantir, under Sauron's control, had corrupted his mind. However, humans being what we are, Gandalf wouldn't necessarily see these things as signs of palantir use; it could be just a recalcitrant, bitter, and arrogant old man.
Okay, enough on this aside; back to the main theme....
