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Originally Posted by deagol
It could be argued that the entire quest played entirely into Sauron's hands, delivering the Ring right to his doorstep, though he knew it.
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And ultimately, he proved Théoden's (or was it Eómer's?) remark, "Oft evil will doth evil mar." Because Sauron was himself enamored of power, he could conceive of no greater desire, no higher purpose. And like many, he projected his own motives and intents onto others. Sometimes, I wonder if in making the Ring, Sauron went farther than even he knew, and put too much of his own will into it, along with his power. If so, that would explain much about the Ring's danger to even powerful beings with good intent. In letter 246, Tolkien makes it plain that only Gandalf really had a chance of claiming the Ring and overthrowing Sauron, but even he would be overthrown by the Ring:
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If Gandalf proved the victor, the result would have been the same for Sauron as the destruction of the Ring; for him it would have been destroyed, taken from him for ever. But the Ring and all its works would have endured. It would have been the master in the end.
Gandalf as Ring-Lord would have been far worse than Sauron....
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No mortal, even Aragorn, had the power or the right to wield the Ring (according to the letter), and even the powerful Elves, like Galadriel, were deluded into thinking they could wield it (again per the same letter). That the Ring feeds delusions to lesser beings and would ultimately corrupt even those powerful enough to claim it indicates a high level of will residing in the Ring itself, I think. It would continue even with Sauron destroyed. Was this the only way of making the Ring effective, or did Sauron make a mistake and go too far, in his hubris? I wonder....i