Quote:
Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc
One big lie itself is if you manage to deceive people into believing that you (as Sauron) are capable of standing against the powers of the West, which, secretly or not, still work in the world in some way. But I am sure the audiences of foreign lords were overflowing with promises of glory, immortality and all this stuff, just like in the good ol' days when the Nazgul were corrupted, mostly from the very same Men. I think the mastery of Sauron's deception was in the fact that the people he was talking to surely knew inside of their hearts that he was lying to them and that the promises he gives are not what they seem, and that they don't lead to immortality (real or metaphorical) and glory, but to death and oblivion. But the people still listened to him and in the end joined him. Isn't that a mastery of deception non plus ultra?
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Well, Sauron was more than capable of standing up to the Western powers! Why wouldn't the eastern and southern men side with him? Military service and labour as the cost of keeping your family and home safe; far preferable, for most people, than incurring the wrath of the tyrant.
That's why I think these particular 'lies' were not so effective, because the end-result was the same with or without them: those armies were marching for Sauron regardless.