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Old 11-20-2001, 12:01 AM   #3
Mithadan
Spirit of Mist
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Tol Eressea
Posts: 3,310
Mithadan is a guest at the Prancing Pony.Mithadan is a guest at the Prancing Pony.
Sting

Old Man, I agree with you in some respects but disagree in others. And just as I have perhaps read too far into the texts, the same comment can be directed towards you.

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Any speculations about ambigious plans or intentions of Denethor have to remain just that. So, his intelligent actions were not far-sighted enough for the great demands of the time. He was no king, but a steward,a politician,
Indeed this is my point. Denethor was a politician, though at the wrong time. During peacetime, Denethor might have been loved by his people. Thorongil? Gandalf? Mere nuisances. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. As a result he greedily sought any advantage he might find.... the Palantir, and perhaps spying on Gandalf's research.

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On the other hand, it also led so far that he "despised lesser men, and one may be sure he did not distinguish between orcs and the allies of Mordor" (Letters).
Again, true indeed, and who were the lesser men? Thorongil, the Northerner (Aragorn), anyone other than he and Boromir?

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So, his intelligent actions were not far-sighted enough for the great demands of the time. He was no king, but a steward,a politician. We can assume he was well aware of that -- maybe it boils down to the fact that the core of Denethor's failures, flaws and fall is that very deficit, and the way he lived - or should we say could not live? - with it. He became mistrustful, chauvinistic in his politics, and lost the view for the world outside the borders of his realms.
Here I do not entirely agree. He did not lose his view of the world outside his realm. The Pakantir assured that. Say instead that the world outside his realm did not suit his petty desires and interests and were not worthy of consideration save as they might impact him.
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