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Old 03-12-2003, 12:55 PM   #23
Annunfuiniel
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
 
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Join Date: Feb 2003
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Silmaril

Quote:
No again. The One Ring is what gave the Three Rings their power, but it did not control them. They went untouched by Sauron in their making.
Hmmm. Tolkien himself puts it quite differently in many instances, for example (letter 144 to Naomi Mitchison):
Quote:
....Though unsullied, because they [The Three Rings] were not made by Sauron nor touched by him, they were nonetheless partly products of his instruction, and ultimately under the control of the One....
But this is really getting of the topic. All that is certain has been said: Gandalf wasn't meant to challenge Sauron but to get the people of M-E to fight their own battle. Sauron had weaknesses (the Ring; "he had been obliged to let a great part of his own inherent power pass into the One Ring", and a new possessor of the Ring could challenge him or the Ring could be unmade) and so did Gandalf and other Istari (the restrictions of physical body, feelings of anxiety and care etc.). But Gandalf overcame one of his weaknesses -the desire to face Sauron in a duel, that is to gain personal success- and the "prize" in the end was the bittersweet victory of goodness. "I was the enemy of Sauron.", as Gandalf himself puts it but I see this meaning that G. was the enemy of Sauron's spirit (his plans to rule the world) and not his person.

Oh no, long story, little point. Sorry about that. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
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