Okay... Congratulations me, I do believe this is my 200th post. Now for the question. I'd never really considered it before, but when I read this thread, my ever-scientific mind saw the possibilities of a handy-dandy solution. Correct me if I'm wrong, it's been over a year since I learned most of this, so I may be slightly off-kilter.
Look at light: black is the absence of light, thus the synonym for 'evil'. White is made of every color combined, thus the most powerful/heavenly.
When White is "broken into many colors", it is just that- broken. ("He who breaks a thing to see how it works has left the path of wisdom", or something like that.) It is no longer the most powerful.
Saruman the White was the same and yet different as Saruman of Many Colors- as the White, he had characteristics of EVERY color, bound together by his initial goodness. When Saruman was corrupted, the goodness was taken away (see the thread 'All Those Good Guys'... I think it's buried pretty deeply.), and so was the binding of all of his characteristics into who he was: The Head of the White Council, the most powerful Wizard. The binding of goodness gone, Saruman's colors no longer made One; they were left scattered into Many.
So my chemistry class inspired equation:
Saruman the White plus corruption yields Saruman of Many Colors.
Fea
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